ethics and ethnography an experiential strongaccountstrong.pdfVIP

QUALITATIVE HEALTH RESEARCH / April 2003Goodwin et al. / ETHICS AND ETHNOGRAPHY ARTICLE10.1177/1049732302250723 Ethics and Ethnography: An Experiential Account Dawn Goodwin Catherine Pope Maggie Mort Andrew Smith In this article, the authors discuss an ethical dilemma faced by the first author during the fieldwork of an ethnographic study of expertise in anesthesia. The example, written from the perspective of the first author, addresses a number of ethical issues commonly faced, namely, the researcher-researched relationship, anonymity and confidentiality, privacy, and exploi- tation. She deliberates on the influences that guided her decision and in doing so highlights some of the elements that combine to shape the data. The authors argue that this process of shaping the data is a symbiotic one in which the researcher and the community being studied construct the data together. Keywords: ethics; ethnography; researcher-researched relationships, shaping the data thics is an ever-present concern for all researchers; it pervades every aspect of Ethe research process from conception and design through to research practice, and continues to require consideration during dissemination of the results. In health care settings, one of the first formal ethical hurdles is attaining ethical com- mittee approval. Therefore, at the outset of a research project, considerable attention is focused on anticipating and addressing ethical issues. This endeavor can be aided by a review of the research literature, wherein a wealth of discussions can be found on issues of informed consent, privacy, harm, exploitation, confidentiality, trust, deception, and betrayal (Fetterman, 1989; Hammersley Atkinson, 1995; Hollo- way Jefferson, 2000; Punch, 1994; Wolcott, 1995).