Ethics in Ethnographic Research
I love watching the show Fraiser. One of my favorite aspects of the show is Fraiser’s incessant need to be true to his ethics, usually to the point of annoying everyone else around him.
Both Fraiser and his brother Niles are practicing psychologists and as a result take their ethics, and themselves very seriously. “Do no harm,” is a principle is practicing medicine. Doctors take an oath to protect their patients who entrust the doctors with their care.
Niles, the kid brother and “serious” psychiatrist of the two brothers, is in a loveless marriage with a high-maintenance socialite who strings him along with her ridiculous demands, knowing the Niles will do anything she tells him to because he is in love with the idea of her wealth and status. When Niles finally works up the nerve to divorce his wife, he then spend the remainder of the season toiling over whether or not he should stay married to her, realizing all he will lose if they were to divorce. In one episode Niles asks Fraiser if he thinks Niles and his wife are “meant to be.” Unsure of how to answer (we all know the answer is no) he avoids to question and spends the next few days pondering the question.
To tell his brother he thinks he is meant to be with his wife would a violation of his ethics. He would be lying to his brother just to spare his feelings. But to tell him the truth would likely send him into a tailspin and hurt his feelings. Either way he would be doing harm to his brother. Fraiser and his ethics have hit a crossroads.
A few weeks ago, we talked about the importance of ethics when conducting ethnographic research. As the researchers, we have a duty to “protect” the people that we are researching. Whether that means concealing their identities, or choosing bits of information to leave out because of the effects it might have on the person, we are supposed to be able to distinguish what is important enough to leave out.
Even though I, personally, am not doing any research that could have damaging effects on the people who I am studying I do think that this is an important lesson to learn. Often in the haze of eagerness to present research, our judgement can become clouded and we may forget to protect those who are kind enough to open themselves up to our research.
I liked the fact that we had to take the ethics and research quiz to make sure that everyone in the studies being conducted, ourselves included, would be protected. In the digital age we feel that everything should be out in the open and nothing is off limits but who are we to say what could be damaging to someone’s personal life or career.
For one of my participant observations I am studying a woman who runs a daycare business. Working with people’s children is a delicate balance as it is, but there is also a matter of protecting the privacy of the children and their parents who didn’t consent to the research. I am making sure to keep personal details about the kids and their parents away from the research I am doing.
