Field Research Ethics

Date: Tuesday, 28 March 2023

Time: 8-9:30 pm EST

Description:

Conducting research in the “field”—whether around the corner or across oceans—may be an especially analytically valuable and personally rewarding part of the academic experience. And yet, field-research practices, from immersive ethnography to more delimited observation or interviews, pose unique ethical challenges. This panel examines best practices for conducting research involving “human subjects” (that is, other people) ethically and well. While many of us first encounter these guidelines in the form of Institutional Review Board (IRB) or human-subjects committee “hoops” through which to jump, at the heart of those regulations are critically important principles. How do we respect the agency of our interlocutors—how do we ensure we do not merely objectify our research subjects? How do we account for our own position within the research process, from personal security to reflexivity regarding the effects of our own presence in the field? What concerns might people in our field sites, whether government officials or ordinary citizens—and especially those in vulnerable positions or with precarious social, political/legal, or economic status—have regarding our research process or outputs? Taking these considerations into account: what do those assessing our research (for instance, for IRB clearance or a research visa) need to know in order to evaluate our plans, and what criteria will they apply?