scholarly journals Ethical Aspects of Social Research: Old Concerns in the Face of New Challenges and Paradoxes. A Reflection from the Field of Biographical Method

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 118-135
Author(s):  
Kaja Kaźmierska
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Animal Rights ◽  
Common Ground ◽  
Social Research ◽  
Ethical Dilemmas ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Ethical Aspects ◽  
Data Archiving

The paper deals with the ethical aspects of the research process and contemporary changes in this field, which make the discussion on ethical dilemmas and concerns more dynamic and varied. Although in natural science and social sciences one can find a common ground related to the most general ethical principles. In the article I refer primarily to the social sciences. The article discusses three aspects affecting the dynamics of ethical discussions: the development of research in the field of natural sciences leading to many ethical dilemmas and forcing ethical codification of research proceedings also in the area of social sciences; the increase in sensitivity and social consciousness and not only awareness of research as such (processes of democratization, emphasizing human and animal rights, protection of minority rights, the process of individualization); the dynamics of contemporary social changes resulting from the development of technology, especially the Internet, which has become a global resource of data and their exchange. This forces qualitative researchers to consider the issue of data archiving, their reanalysis, and determining the boundary for creating Big Qualidata from them. The article discusses these three dimensions, with particular emphasis on the last of them, which will be commented on in relation to the specific methodological approach, which is biographical research.

scholarly journals Researcher-Led Development of E-Research in the Social Sciences: The Case of an E-Social Science Pilot Demonstrator Project

2010 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 42-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bridgette Wessels ◽  
Max Craglia
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Social Science ◽  
Social Exclusion ◽  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Social Research ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Natural Sciences ◽  
Research Management ◽  
Geographical Variations ◽  
The Social

The introduction and use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in the process of research is extending beyond research management into research practice itself. This extension of the use of ICT in research is being termed as e-research. The characteristics of e-research are seen as the combination of three interrelated strands, which are: the increased computerization of the research process; research organized more predominantly in the form of distributed networks of researchers, and a strong emphasis on visualization. E-research has become established in the natural sciences but the development of e-research in relation to social sciences is variable and less pervasive. The richness of the social sciences and their variety of practices and engagement in diverse fields of study mean that e-research as utilized in the natural sciences cannot be easily migrated into the social sciences. This paper explores the development of e-research for the social sciences. The paper is based on an ESRC funded e-social science demonstrator project in which social scientists sought to shape the use of Grid ICT technologies in the research process. The project is called: ‘Collaborative Analysis of Offenders’ Personal and Area-based Social Exclusion’: it addresses social exclusion in relation to how individual and neighbourhood effects account for geographical variations of crime patterns and explores the opportunities and challenges offered by e-research to address the research problem. The paper suggests that if e-research is driven from the needs of social research then it can enhance the practice of social science.

scholarly journals Ethics in Categorizing Ethnicity and Disability in Research with Children

Societies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 2
Author(s):  
Ingfrid Mattingsdal Thorjussen ◽  
Terese Wilhelmsen
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Ethical Dilemmas ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Relational Ethics ◽  
Voluntary Participation ◽  
Power Relationships ◽  
Research Projects ◽  
Social Categories ◽  
Research With Children ◽  
Field Notes

The use of categories is a contested subject in social sciences. The use of social categories allows researchers to explore similarities, differences, and inequalities between groups of people. However, by using social categories, researchers run the risk of essentializing differences. The aim of this article is to problematize the procedural and relational ethics of using categories in research with children. Based on two research projects studying inclusion and exclusion in physical education, we examine the ongoing ethical dilemmas of categorizing children in terms of disability and ethnic background. The reflections are grounded in intersectional and relational ethical perspectives with a focus on how power is manifested in practices and structures throughout the research process. The data consist of field notes, transcripts of interviews with children and their parents, and the authors’ reflective accounts. The results are organized into three main themes: (1) How categories frame the research in its initial phases (informed consent and voluntary participation), (2) power relationships in context (navigating meanings of categories in the interviews and the relational ethics of generational ordering in combined interviews with children and their parents), and (3) (re)constructing stories and ensuring anonymity. In the discussion, we reflect on how singling out groups of children framed the research, how categories and power relations were negotiated and navigated in interviews and fieldwork, and how, in the reporting of the results, understandings of the children and their experiences were constructed. We argue that by not reflecting on the ethics of categorizing children in research, researchers are in danger of reproducing rather than challenging social inequality and discrimination.

scholarly journals Causes of deficits and ethical dilemmas in scientific research

2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 17-31
Author(s):  
Danuta Walczak-Duraj
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Academic Success ◽  
Social Research ◽  
Ethical Dilemmas ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Scientific Research ◽  
Codes Of Ethics ◽  
Data Publishing ◽  
The Social ◽  
Conducting Research

The analysis of the deficits and ethical dilemmas in research will be related to two disciplines of the social sciences: sociology and economics. Research conducted within these disciplines, because of its multi-paradigm nature, tends to be characterized by deficits, not only ethical but also ethical and methodological dilemmas and interpretation reasons. The leading thesis of this paper aims to argue that the looming deficits and ethical dilemmas of Polish researchers in the field of social sciences are two basic but very different premises. The first group of reasons primarily refers to broad ethical deficits, perceived unreliableness in terms of scientific research. It is related mainly to the structural aspects of the functioning of universities and other research units and logic parameterization. In the ethical programs (especially codes of ethics), ethical deficits are identified in three areas of “activity” of research related to the description, diagnosis and interpretation of the results relating to: bragging—e.g. the preparation, recording and publishing of the results that were not obtained; falsification—which means manipulating the research materials, equipment or method, replacing or bypassing the data in such a way that the results are not presented in a true way; plagiarism—the appropriation of other people ideas, methods, results, or terms without proper reference. Plagiarism is also the unauthorized use of information obtained through confidential review of proposals and manuscripts, or e.g. using conference presentations without permission. Its structural evidence is primarily the emphasis on “productivity” and parameterization as the basic criterion, not only of scientific but also academic success-oriented and personalized careers. The second group of reasons refers primarily to broad ethical dilemmas; to the ethical context of social research at every stage of the proceedings: conceptualization, selection of methods, techniques and research tools, conducting research (which concern, for example, the covert participant observation), analysis and interpretation of data, publishing developed and interpreted empirical material. Performing even a cursory analysis of how to present research findings in these two disciplines, you can come to the conclusion that the methodological competence of the investigator does not always go hand in hand with ethical competence. What is more, there is a tendency to downplay the principle that the social sciences should be guided by the principle of the so-called humanistic coefficient.

scholarly journals Representaciones sociales y creencias epistemológicas. Conceptos convergentes en la investigación social Social representations and epistemological beliefs. Convergent concepts in social research

2019 ◽  
pp. 412-432
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Epistemological Beliefs ◽  
Social Research ◽  
Social Representations ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
The Social ◽  
Holistic Process ◽  
Methodological Approaches ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Transfer Of Information

Varios enfoques teórico-metodológicos en la ciencia social nos permiten identificar las diferentes formas en que los individuos construyen su conocimiento, así como evidenciar las condicionantes para el tránsito de la información de lo individual a lo social y viceversa. Se asume como un proceso holístico de conocimientos adquiridos y transmitidos, que puede incluso transformar comportamientos. Dos enfoques a los que nos referimos son las Representaciones Sociales (RS) y las Creencias Epistemológicas (CE). Consideramos que las RS y las CE son aproximaciones distintas, pero estrechamente vinculadas entre sí al compartir puntos de encuentro, aunque sus conceptualizaciones no lo reflejen. En este artículo se evidencian las convergencias y divergencias de ambas nociones, desde sus enfoques teóricos hasta las aproximaciones metodológicas de los diversos estudios emprendidos con base en cada una de ellas. Several theoretical-methodological approaches in the social sciences facilitate the identification of the different ways in which individuals construct knowledge. These approaches also highlight the conditions necessary for the transfer of information from the individual to the social and vice versa. They are considered to form an acquired and transmitted holistic process of knowledge, which can even transform behavior. Two of these approaches are Social Representations and Epistemological Beliefs. Although considered to be distinct approaches, Social Representations and Epistemological Beliefs are closely linked through their shared convergent points even though their conceptualizations do not reflect this. The article highlights the convergences and divergences of both notions taking into consideration their specific theoretical approach up through their specific methodological approach using different studies undertaken and based on each one of them

scholarly journals The ethical dilemmas of research with children from the countries of the Global South. Whose participation?

2018 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-65
Author(s):  
Urszula Markowska-Manista
Keyword(s):  
Children And Adolescents ◽  
Ethical Dilemmas ◽  
Social Situation ◽  
Global South ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Negative Influence ◽  
Childhood Studies ◽  
Ethical Aspects ◽  
Research With Children ◽  
Methodological Approaches

AbstractThe article outlines issues in the area of childhood studies and children’s rights that concern the participation of children and adolescents from the countries of the Global South in participatory research. The article presents the ethical aspects and methodo­logical dilemmas of such research, pertaining to engaging children and adolescents in research conducted by adults. Other issues addressed in the text refer to the child’s right to respect, the subjective treatment of children and adolescents (as respondents) as well as the limits of participatory involvement of children in the research process. The article also discusses the ethical dilemmas of research whose methodological approaches and concepts were designed in a different, distinct socio-cultural con­text and can interfere in the life and functioning of the community it is conducted in, including a negative influence on children’s social situation in the future.

Negotiating ethical dilemmas in research: to act or not to act in the face of the normalisation of gender injustice encountered in the research process

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mildred Tambudzai Mushunje ◽  
Vishanthie Sewpaul
Keyword(s):  
Ethical Dilemma ◽  
Social Research ◽  
Ethical Dilemmas ◽  
Scientific Research ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Cultural Norms ◽  
Original Research ◽  
Logical Positivist ◽  
Consciousness Raising ◽  
The Face

This article focuses on research conducted in relation to the gendered dynamics of access to, and utilisation of, agricultural inputs in the quest for women’s empowerment. The article focuses on the ethical dilemmas that arose during the course of the research in relation to the claim that scientific research, particularly of the logical-positivist tradition, should not cause disruption to people’s lives and that researchers must remain detached and neutral. This contrasts with the requisite of critical, emancipatory social research, which calls for using research for transformational purposes. Our original research, upon which this article is based, reflects that while participants were aware of gender-discriminatory practices in accessing and utilising agricultural inputs, they were unwilling to challenge naturalised discriminatory and oppressive cultural norms. The ethical dilemma was whether to leave the participants’ views and gendered practices unchallenged, or to adopt strategies of consciousness raising in an attempt to engender change.

scholarly journals Thick Concepts in Social Research: What, Why, and How?

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 ◽  
pp. 160940692110661
Author(s):  
Simon van der Weele
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Social Research ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Qualitative Social Research ◽  
Thick Concepts ◽  
The Social ◽  
Epistemological Challenge ◽  
Social Scientific ◽  
Practical Recommendations ◽  
Methodological Difficulties

Thick concepts are concepts that describe and evaluate at once. Academic discussion on thick concepts originated in meta-ethics, but thick concepts increasingly draw attention from qualitative researchers working in the social sciences, too. However, these scholars work in relative isolation from each other, and an overview of their ideas is missing. This article has two aims. The first is to provide such an overview, by bringing together these disparate voices on why thick concepts matter for the social sciences and how to work with them in qualitative social research. The second aim is to reflect on the methodological difficulties of working with thick concepts, by thinking through the example of my research on a specific thick concept—the concept of dependency. The article argues that thick concepts are invoked by social researchers for either epistemological or methodological purposes. It then goes on to claim that if we want to take thick concepts as our sensitizing concepts or as our objects of research, these two purposes really ought to be considered in unison: any methodological approach involving thick concepts must factor in the epistemological challenge thick concepts pose to social-scientific research. To show why—and to consider what this requires from qualitative researchers—I draw on insights acquired during my study on dependency. I end with practical recommendations for working with thick concepts in social research.

scholarly journals ¿Artesanía o cazador tras la huella?. Reflexiones para el análisis cualitativo de datos

2018 ◽  
pp. 65
Author(s):  
Daniel San Martín Cantero
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Social Research ◽  
Research Process ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Object Of Study ◽  
And Training

En las ciencias sociales se generan debates metodológicos que contribuyen a las formas de comprender la investigación social. En este ensayo se discute el modo de entender el rol del investigador frente a la aproximación y análisis del objeto/sujeto de estudio. El objetivo es cuestionar el uso de la metáfora del investigador como artesano. Esta imagen aparece en los años 50 para explicar la creatividad que requiere el proceso de investigación y análisis cualitativo de datos. Sin embargo, la metáfora del artesano representa una aproximación deductiva del investigador al sujeto/objeto de estudio. Por el contrario, el análisis cualitativo está orientado por procedimientos inductivos. Entonces, se propone la metáfora del cazador tras la presa, como un recurso con consistencia paradigmática y epistemológica que aporta a la comprensión y formación en investigación cualitativa.Within the social sciences, methodological debates contribute to the understanding of social research. This paper discusses one way of understanding the role of the investigator in relation to the approach and analysis of the object/subject of study. The objective is to question the use of the researcher's metaphor as a craftsman. This image appears in the 1950s in order to explain the creativity required by the research process and qualitative data analysis. However, the artisan's metaphor represents a deductive approximation of the researcher to the subject/object of study. On the contrary, the qualitative analysis is oriented by inductive procedures. The metaphor of the hunter after the prey is then proposed as a resource with a paradigmatic and epistemological consistency that contributes to the understanding and training in the qualitative research.

scholarly journals On Conversation and Authorship: Legal Frameworks for Collaborative Methodologies

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 ◽  
pp. 160940692199328
Author(s):  
Lucero Ibarra Rojas
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Intellectual Property ◽  
Social Research ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Social Processes ◽  
Social Actors ◽  
Academic Texts ◽  
Academic Fields ◽  
The Social ◽  
Legal Frameworks

Collaborative methodologies are at the forefront of an academic movement seeking to recognize the way social research emerges out of interaction with social actors involved in the processes studied. However, the question of how this recognition can be expressed through authorship is rarely explored. Even though co-authorship is common in different academic fields, including social sciences, the inclusion of actors involved in the social processes studied as co-authors of academic reports is still quite rare. Thus, I here analyze the methodological and epistemological assumptions underlying traditional expressions of authorship embedded in intellectual property models, and how these can be challenged through collaborative methodologies and co-authorship dynamics. I then present a methodological approach that focuses on the co-authored construction of academic texts through conversations, which was developed through four different experiences with scholars and persons involved in different social and political initiatives.

The Science and Art of Interviewing

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathleen Gerson ◽  
Sarah Damaske
Keyword(s):  
Social Research ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Science And Art ◽  
The Social ◽  
Interview Guide ◽  
Hidden Patterns ◽  
User Friendly ◽  
Depth Interviews

Qualitative interviewing is one of the most widely used methods in social research, but it is arguably the least well understood. To address that gap, this book offers a theoretically rigorous, empirically rich, and user-friendly set of strategies for conceiving and conducting interview-based research. Much more than a how-to manual, the book shows why depth interviewing is an indispensable method for discovering and explaining the social world—shedding light on the hidden patterns and dynamics that take place within institutions, social contexts, relationships, and individual experiences. It offers a step-by-step guide through every stage in the research process, from initially formulating a question to developing arguments and presenting the results. To do this, the book shows how to develop a research question, decide on and find an appropriate sample, construct an interview guide, conduct probing and theoretically focused interviews, and systematically analyze the complex material that depth interviews provide—all in the service of finding and presenting important new empirical discoveries and theoretical insights. The book also lays out the ever-present but rarely discussed challenges that interviewers routinely encounter and then presents grounded, thoughtful ways to respond to them. By addressing the most heated debates about the scientific status of qualitative methods, the book demonstrates how depth interviewing makes unique and essential contributions to the research enterprise. With an emphasis on the integral relationship between carefully crafted research and theory building, the book offers a compelling vision for what the “interviewing imagination” can and should be.

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