Ethical Challenges in Qualitative Research: A Look at Intimacy & Relationships

Introduction

The nature of qualitative research creates ethical challenges for the researcher, particularly when interacting with the study participants. The challenges are derivatives of the personal involvement of the researcher in various stages of the study. According to Sanjari et al. (2014), ethical concerns in qualitative research might emanate from the relationship and the intimacy developed between a researcher and his or her participants. The ethical issues that the researcher might face include the respect for the participants' privacy, the development of honest and open interactions with the respondents, and avoiding misrepresentations (Sanjari et al., 2014). On the other hand, the ethically challenging situations might come about when the researchers have to take care of some of the contradicting issues that might require them to choose between varying methodological strategies (Roberts, 2015). In such situations, conflicts might arise, such as the disagreement between dissimilar components such as the discipline of the researcher, the participants, and the funding entity.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

Minimizing Harm

The most common ethical issues that qualitative researchers face in their quest include the aspect of confidentiality, as well as the role of the researcher as an instrument in collecting the relevant data. The population in which the researcher collects relevant data should be comfortable to provide the researcher with personal details, including the comfort to discuss controversial information (Alsaawi, 2014). In such instances, the researcher has to observe confidentiality, as he or she will be responsible for providing the study population with confidentiality during the different stages of the research process (Petrova, Dewing, &Camilleri, 2016). The issue of confidentiality supersedes acquiring informed consent from the research participants. In this case, the qualitative researcher needs to disguise the identities of the research participants, particularly when they divulge controversial information (Drabble et al., 2016). On the other hand, the researcher has to find diplomatic ways that could enable him or her to divulge the information without disclosing the identities of the participants.

Informed consent can be identified as one of the most important parts of ethics in research studies. According to Sanjari et al. (2014), informed consent should be regarded as the most important element for qualitative researchers to consider, as they should specify the consent in advance. The consent will inform the respondents on the type of data to be collected in the study, including how the information will be used (Killawi et al., 2014). Through the principle of informed consent, the responsibility of the researcher is of utmost importance, as the researchers are required to inform the participants of the various aspects of the research process in a language that they can understand. For this reason, the researchers should provide clarifications whenever needed. The clarifications should include information regarding the nature of the study, the potential role of the participants, the financing institution, the objectives that the study desires to fulfill, and the manner in which the results from the study will be used and published (Killawi et al., 2014).

Qualitative studies consider different participant attributes that include their sexual orientation, race, language, marital status, and age, among other personal information to be divulged by the respondents (Miltgen&Peyrat-Guillard, 2014). These attributes can affect the data in which the researcher can access to make suitable study conclusions. How the researcher carries him or herself, including their dressing and approachability, could affect the data that could be accessed. If a researcher is aware of the local culture in which he or she is conducting a particular study, he or she should be in a position of understanding how to view the culture (Ormston, Spencer, Barnard, & Snape, 2014). The understanding will also affect the researcher's work. For this reason, the researcher needs to be aware of the ethical concerns that characterize qualitative research, consequently making considerations based on the project and the data that needs to be collected.

Respecting the Shared Experience of Others

Another ethical issue emanates from the provision that a researcher involved in conducting qualitative studies does not have the power over the study population (Grossoehme, 2014). In instances during which the project is derived from an organization funding, the project partners might be interested in ensuring that the questions provided by the participants are answered in a certain way. Conversely, the project partners might be interested in showing a certain need, which might be one of the set parameters for continued funding (Galdas, 2017). The demands might create unwarranted biases in the study, thereby compromising the objectivity of the research. In such instances, researchers are required to come up with solid evaluation designs, which should be instrumental in mitigating some of the potential issues (Galdas, 2017). However, it is important for the researchers to take note of the fact that their findings and reports can affect the direction that the project assumes and the lives of the participants, particularly when the project covers a grave social issue.

Conclusion

In qualitative studies, ethical considerations dictate that the researcher is responsible for dealing with sensitive topics in-depth, as they can create emotional risks, among other risks to the participants. In this light, the researcher should follow predetermined protocols that can assist in dealing with distress, even though it might be difficult to determine the topics that might lead to distress. For this reason, qualitative researchers should receive suitable training to predict traumatic situations, consequently making essential adjustments to avoid ethical complications (Sanjari et al., 2014). In line with the provided understanding of the ethical issues of qualitative research, researchers should focus on minimizing the flaws that might exist during the data collection process, consequently gaining truthful knowledge needed for deriving objective findings.

References

Alsaawi, A. (2014). A Critical Review of Qualitative Interviews. European Journal of Business and Social Sciences, 3(4).Retrieved from http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Alsaawi,+A.+(2014).+A+Critical+Review+of+Qualitative+Interviews.+European+Journal+of+Business+and+Social+Sciences&hl=en&as_sdt=0&as_vis=1&oi=scholart

Drabble, L., Trocki, K. F., Salcedo, B., Walker, P. C., &Korcha, R. A. (2016). Conducting Qualitative Interviews by Telephone: Lessons Learned from a Study of Alcohol Use among Sexual Minority and Heterosexual Women. Qualitative Social Work, 15(1), 118-133. Retrieved from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/ddee/575b097c157709630d17e37676ec53bf39d9.pdf

Galdas, P. (2017). Revisiting Bias In Qualitative Research: Reflections on Its Relationship With Funding and Impact. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 16, 1-2. Retrieved fromhttps://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1609406917748992

Grossoehme, D. H. (2014). Overview of Qualitative Research. Journal of Health Care Chaplaincy, 20(3), 109-122. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24926897

Killawi, A., Khidir, A., Elnashar, M., Abdelrahim, H., Hammoud, M., Elliott, H., Thurston, M., Asad, H., Al-Khal, A. L.,&Fetters, M. D. (2014). Procedures of Recruiting, Obtaining Informed Consent and Compensating Research Participants in Qatar: Findings from a Qualitative Investigation. BMC Medical Ethics, 15(1), 9. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24495499

Miltgen, C. L., &Peyrat-Guillard, D. (2014). Cultural and Generational Influences on Privacy Concerns: A Qualitative Study in Seven European Countries. European Journal of Information Systems, 23(2), 103-125. Retrieved from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1057/ejis.2013.17

Ormston, R., Spencer, L., Barnard, M., &Snape, D. (2014). The Foundations of Qualitative Research. Qualitative Research Practice: A Guide for Social Science Students and Researchers, 2, 52-55. Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=EQSIAwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA1&dq=Ormston,+R.,+Spencer,+L.,+Barnard,+M.,+%26+Snape,+D.+(2014).+The+Foundations+of+Qualitative+Research.+Qualitative+Research+Practice:+A+Guide+for+Social+Science+Students+and+Researchers,&ots=l_VQkoUv_J&sig=EEd94cvyailADn2yhka4Ca5s5rM

Petrova, E., Dewing, J., &Camilleri, M. (2016). Confidentiality in Participatory Research: Challenges from One Study. Nursing Ethics, 23(4), 442-454. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25552589

Roberts, L. D. (2015). Ethical Issues in Conducting Qualitative Research in Online Communities. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 12(3), 314-325. Retrieved from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14780887.2015.1008909

Sanjari, M., Bahramnezhad, F., Fomani, F. K., Shoghi, M., &Cheraghi, M. A. (2014). Ethical Challenges of Researchers in Qualitative Studies: The Necessity to Develop a Specific Guideline. Journal of Medical Ethics and the History of Medicine, 7, 14. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/Pmc4263394/