scholarly journals Researching Drug Sellers: An ‘experiential’ account from ‘the field’

2008 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jenni Ward
Keyword(s):  
Drug Use ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Criminal Activity ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
Human Interaction ◽  
Ethnographic Research ◽  
Illegal Activity ◽  
Research Relationship ◽  
Drug Selling

Ethnographic research techniques are well regarded as a way to elicit detailed understandings of human interaction. They are particularly useful for examining ‘deviant’ cultures and the dynamics of illegal activity. Though, ethnographic research on illegal activity can be ‘messy’. This paper reports some practical and ethical issues encountered while carrying out an ethnographic study of drug use and drug selling among ‘rave’ dance participants in London. In particular it addresses the issue of using friendship to assist the research relationship and the use of a semi-covert style of research. Connected to this, it touches on the emotional work of the fieldworker whilst undertaking ‘sensitive’ research. It makes a timely contribution to discussions of ‘reflexivity’ in the research process, as well as the discourse on social sciences research governance. It argues the standardized codes of ethical conduct can not easily be translated to ethnographic research on criminal activity, such as drug use and drug selling.

scholarly journals Law for ethnographers

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 205979911772060 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tracey Elliott ◽  
Jennifer Fleetwood
Keyword(s):  
Legal Protection ◽  
Criminal Activity ◽  
Research Data ◽  
Legal Responsibility ◽  
Ethnographic Research ◽  
Legal Action ◽  
Illegal Activity ◽  
The Future ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Law

Despite a long history of ethnographic research on crime, ethnographers have shied away from examining the law as it relates to being present at, witnessing and recording illegal activity. However, knowledge of the law is an essential tool for researchers and the future of ethnographic research on crime. This article reviews the main relevant legal statutes in England and Wales and considers their relevance for contemporary ethnographic research. We report that researchers have no legal responsibility to report criminal activity (with some exceptions). The circumstances under which legal action could be taken to seize research data are specific and limited, and respondent’s privacy is subject to considerable legal protection. Our review gives considerable reason to be optimistic about the future of ethnographic research.

scholarly journals Ethical and Safety Issues in Doing Sex Work Research: Reflections From a Field-Based Ethnographic Study in Kolkata, India

2016 ◽  
Vol 27 (6) ◽  
pp. 893-908 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sunny Sinha
Keyword(s):  
Sex Work ◽  
Sex Workers ◽  
Female Sex Workers ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Epidemiological Studies ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
Sex Industry ◽  
Safety Issues ◽  
Female Sex

While much has been said about the risks and safety issues experienced by female sex workers in India, there is a considerable dearth of information about the difficulties and problems that sex work researchers, especially female researchers, experience when navigating the highly political, ideological, and stigmatized environment of the Indian sex industry. As noted by scholars, there are several methodological and ethical issues involved with sex work research, such as privacy and confidentiality of the participants, representativeness of the sample, and informed consent. Yet, there has been reluctance among scholars to comment on their research process, especially with regard to how they deal with the protocols for research ethics when conducting social and behavioral epidemiological studies among female sex workers in India and elsewhere. Drawing on my 7 months of field-based ethnographic research with “flying” or non-brothel-based female sex workers in Kolkata, India, I provide in this article a reflexive account of the problems encountered in implementing the research process, particularly the ethical and safety issues involved in gaining access and acceptance into the sex industry and establishing contact and rapport with the participants. In doing so, it is my hope that future researchers can develop the knowledge necessary for the design of ethical and non-exploitative research projects with sex workers.

scholarly journals Review on Ethical Issues in Ethnographic Study: Some Reflections

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-94
Author(s):  
Nani Babu Ghimire
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Sensitivity ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Research Work ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
Ethnographic Research ◽  
Natural Setting ◽  
Ethical Aspects ◽  
Research Papers ◽  
Institutional Review ◽  
Writing Research

Consideration of ethical issues in an ethnographic study is a significant matter to draw trustworthy findings and conclusions for the qualitative researchers. They need to be sensitive and honest on following the principles of ethical consideration while they are engaging in ethnographic research either in data collection or writing research papers. In this paper, I have employed literature review and self-reflective methodology to draw attention of the ethnographers to consider the ethical issues in doing ethnography. The findings and discussion have revealed that the ethnographic researchers should review the ethical aspects of their study from the Institutional Review Board; they must work in a natural setting to discover realistic experiences and/or struggles of the participants by respecting their cultural sensitivity and gaining permission and access to them as voluntary participants in the study. Moreover, the ethnographers need to take informed consent from their participants by securing confidentiality, maintaining anonymity, developing reciprocity, and preserving honesty for them in the research. Likewise, it is found that the ethnographic researcher must be conscious not to harm their participants during research work, and they should not fabricate their data, falsify the interpretation and plagiarize the already published materials in their research paper.

scholarly journals A Clash of Paradigms? Ethnography and Ethics Approval

SAGE Open ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 215824401769716 ◽  
Author(s):  
Virginia Mapedzahama ◽  
Tinashe Dune
Keyword(s):  
Structural Changes ◽  
Social Research ◽  
Ethics Committees ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Ethical Review ◽  
Ethnographic Research ◽  
Rural Nursing ◽  
Research Relationship ◽  
Ethical Approval ◽  
Ethics Guidelines

Obtaining ethics approval from university ethics committees is an important part of the research process in Australia and internationally. However, for researchers engaging in ethnographic work, obtaining ethics approval can (re)present significant hurdles to overcome in planning and facilitating a research project. In this article, we discuss potential challenges of reconciling the differences between institutional ethical review standards and the reality of ethnographic research. To do so, we reflect on our own experiences seeking ethics approval for a study on racialized visibility in rural nursing and another on the experiences of gender and sexuality diverse older women. We focus on two particular queries from ethics committees that reaffirm, for us, the incompatibility of biomedically informed ethics guidelines for naturalistic, ethnographic research. The article draws on four major points of contention regarding ethical approval processes designed for biomedical research and applied to social research. With respect to social research, these are (a) the associated risks, (b) predictive informed consent, (c) the power held by social researchers, and (d) biomedical emphasis on distance and universalism within the research relationship. This article suggests a reformulation of ethics guidelines and structures such that ethics committees are better able to engage with ethnographic (and other social) research. Although these debates and structural changes may not be relevant for all social or ethnographic research, exploring these ethical difficulties is paramount to redefining expectations and the positivist standards upon which social research is often measured.

Ethnohistory's Ethnohistory

2010 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 113-128
Author(s):  
Michael E. Harkin
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Theoretical Orientation ◽  
Historical Analysis ◽  
The United States ◽  
Ethnographic Research ◽  
European Contact ◽  
Documentary Sources ◽  
Research Areas ◽  
Foundational Work

This article examines the first decades of the field of ethnohistory as it developed in the United States. It participated in the general rapprochement between history and anthropology of mid-twentieth-century social science. However, unlike parallel developments in Europe and in other research areas, ethnohistory specifically arose out of the study of American Indian communities in the era of the Indian Claims Commission. Thus ethnohistory developed from a pragmatic rather than a theoretical orientation, with practitioners testifying both in favor of and against claims. Methodology was flexible, with both documentary sources and ethnographic methods employed to the degree that each was feasible. One way that ethnohistory was innovative was the degree to which women played prominent roles in its development. By the end of the first decade, the field was becoming broader and more willing to engage both theoretical and ethical issues raised by the foundational work. In particular, the geographic scope began to reach well beyond North America, especially to Latin America, where archival resources and the opportunities for ethnographic research were plentiful, but also to areas such as Melanesia, where recent European contact allowed researchers to observe the early postcontact period directly and to address the associated theoretical questions with greater authority. Ethnohistory is thus an important example of a field of study that grew organically without an overarching figure or conscious plan but that nevertheless came to engage central issues in cultural and historical analysis.

On Being a Punk and a Scholar: A Reflexive Account of Researching a Punk Scene in Russia

2014 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 135-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivan Gololobov
Keyword(s):  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Academic Career ◽  
Social World ◽  
Ethnographic Research ◽  
Methodological Framework ◽  
Main Research ◽  
Research Paradigms ◽  
Ethnographic Studies ◽  
Youth Subcultures ◽  
The University

Ethnographic studies of youth subcultures, scenes and urban tribes often rely on insiders’ accounts, where researchers investigate a social environment of which they are presently or formerly members. This approach raises important questions about the positionality of the researcher, and the reflexivity, epistemology and ethics of an ethnographic investigation, as different roles and engagement with the field, as well as the very identity of the ‘field’ itself, no longer fit into the methodological framework of traditional ethnography. This article explores the difficulties that arise during ethnographic research on one's own social world. I was actively involved in the Russian punk scene before pursuing my academic career in England, and in the framework of a research project on post-socialist punk at the University of Warwick, I went back to study this milieu as a ‘field’ in two different sites in 2009 and in 2010. The article shows the complexity of researching one's own subculture and demonstrates that active discentring of the ‘knowing authority’ in studying one's own ‘tribe’ necessarily involves a transformation of its main research paradigms, where epistemological and ethical issues appear to be rearranged in a new way which radically affects the methodological foundations of such an investigation.

Ethical Aspects of Genotype Disclosure: Perceptions of Participants in a Nutrigenetic Study in Finland

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Suchetana De ◽  
Maaria Tringham ◽  
Anu Hopia ◽  
Raija Tahvonen ◽  
Anna-Maija Pietilä ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Basic Education ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Lifestyle Changes ◽  
Knowledge Assessment ◽  
Categorical Variables ◽  
Continuous Variables ◽  
Allele Status ◽  
Group Members ◽  
Questionnaire Online

<b><i>Objective:</i></b> The aim of this study was to gain insight into the understanding of genetics and perceptions on the ethical issues related to genotype disclosure of the participants in a nutrigenetic study. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> A close-ended questionnaire was developed based on literature and discussions among the research group members. The questionnaire contained a ­total of 33 questions, which were divided into 4 categories – demographics, knowledge assessment, concerns related to participation, and opinions on disclosure of information. Majority of the participants (250 out of 281) of a nutrigenetic study, in which effect of disclosing <i>APOE</i> allele status on lifestyle changes was studied, completed the questionnaire online following the informed consent process. The responses from the knowledge assessment and the concern categories were transformed into knowledge and concern scales, respectively, and analysed by descriptive statistical methods. The statistical associations between the categorical variables were determined using χ<sup>2</sup> test of independence. The relationship between the continuous variables was assessed using Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient and internal consistency of questions by Cronbach’s alpha. <b><i>Results:</i></b> No correlation was observed between the level of education and knowledge scores. About 10% of the participants thought that the genetic predisposition would be stressful to them and their family members. <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> Careful distribution of information before a nutrigenetic study supports understanding and reduces concerns of genetic susceptibility. In Finland, strong basic education is likely to have strengthened the trust in research process.

scholarly journals Using video in childbirth research

2015 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 177-189 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Davis Harte ◽  
Caroline SE Homer ◽  
Athena Sheehan ◽  
Nicky Leap ◽  
Maralyn Foureur
Keyword(s):  
Video Recording ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Ethics Committee ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
Australian Health ◽  
Healthcare Settings ◽  
Video Research ◽  
Unit Design ◽  
Ethical Approval ◽  
Randomised Controlled

Background: Conducting video-research in birth settings raises challenges for ethics review boards to view birthing women and research-midwives as capable, autonomous decision-makers. Aim: This study aimed to gain an understanding of how the ethical approval process was experienced and to chronicle the perceived risks and benefits. Research design: The Birth Unit Design project was a 2012 Australian ethnographic study that used video recording to investigate the physical design features in the hospital birthing space that might influence both verbal and non-verbal communication and the experiences of childbearing women, midwives and supporters. Participants and research context: Six women, 11 midwives and 11 childbirth supporters were filmed during the women’s labours in hospital birth units and interviewed 6 weeks later. Ethical considerations: The study was approved by an Australian Health Research Ethics Committee after a protracted process of negotiation. Findings: The ethics committee was influenced by a traditional view of research as based on scientific experiments resulting in a poor understanding of video-ethnographic research, a paradigmatic view of the politics and practicalities of modern childbirth processes, a desire to protect institutions from litigation, and what we perceived as a paternalistic approach towards protecting participants, one that was at odds with our aim to facilitate situations in which women could make flexible, autonomous decisions about how they might engage with the research process. Discussion: The perceived need for protection was overly burdensome and against the wishes of the participants themselves; ultimately, this limited the capacity of the study to improve care for women and babies. Conclusion: Recommendations are offered for those involved in ethical approval processes for qualitative research in childbirth settings. The complexity of issues within childbirth settings, as in most modern healthcare settings, should be analysed using a variety of research approaches, beyond efficacy-style randomised controlled trials, to expand and improve practice-based results.

scholarly journals Pharmacological interventions for drug-using offenders: an update to a systematic review and meta-analysis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. M. Glanville ◽  
A. E. Perry ◽  
M. Martyn-St James ◽  
C. Hewitt ◽  
S. Swami ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Drug Use ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Treatment Options ◽  
Criminal Activity ◽  
Cochrane Collaboration ◽  
Pharmacological Interventions ◽  
Serious Adverse Events ◽  
Male Adult ◽  
The Impact

Abstract This updated systematic review assesses the effects of pharmacological interventions for drug-using offenders. Methods Systematic review protocols and conventions of the Cochrane Collaboration were followed to identify eligible studies. Studies were pooled in a meta-analysis to assess the impact of pharmacological interventions on drug use and criminal activity. An economic appraisal was conducted. Results The search strategies identified 22 studies containing 4372 participants. Meta-analyses revealed a small statistically significant mean difference favouring pharmacological interventions relative to psychological interventions in reducing drug use and criminal activity. When comparing the drugs to one another there were no significant differences between those included (methadone versus buprenorphine, naltrexone and cyclazocine). Conclusion Overall, the findings of this review suggest that methadone and naltrexone may have some impact on reducing drug use and reincarceration. Individual pharmacological drugs had differing (generally non-significant) effects. One study identified serious adverse events. Three studies reported cost and consequences information sufficient to conduct a full economic analysis but this was not comprehensive enough to be able to make judgements across all treatment options. Full economic analyses should be encouraged. The study findings were limited mainly to male adult offenders.

scholarly journals The Day of the Rally: An ethnographic study of ‘ceremony as resistance’ and ‘resistance as ceremony’

Organization ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 255-275 ◽  
Author(s):  
Darren McCabe
Keyword(s):  
Power Relations ◽  
Organisational Culture ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
Ethnographic Research ◽  
Frontline Employee ◽  
Stability And Instability ◽  
Employee Resistance ◽  
Workplace Resistance

The literature on organisational culture suggests that ceremonies or rituals reinforce control. By contrast, this article contributes to the literature on resistance, culture and ceremony by arguing that ceremony can also be understood as a form of resistance. It does so through drawing on ethnographic research, first, to explore how a ceremonial 1-day rally during an academic dispute was productive for frontline employee resistance (ceremony as resistance). Second, it considers how such resistance can also be productive in generating consent, for it is infused with and reproduces established norms, subjectivities and power relations (resistance as ceremony). Finally, it is asserted that resistance can be productive in fostering a subjectivity characterised by stability and instability and so practices such as a rally are necessary to try to stabilise both the organisation and the subjectivity of resistance. The article therefore illustrates the ambiguity of productive resistance which has been neglected to date. These insights and arguments indicate that all forms of workplace resistance are decaf, for they are imbued with the context and norms through which they arise. Nevertheless, resistance remains dangerous for those in positions of authority because it means that power is never totalising and so outcomes continue to be uncertain.

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