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

Abstract

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.

Adapting the Social Work Curriculum for Relevance in a South African University: A Collaborative Autoethnography of Social Work Academics During the KZN Floods

“…As a result, our scholarly consultation with recent publications on this ethical quandary provided direction (cf. Kaźmierska, 2020;Lapadat, 2017). Kaźmierska (2020:118) questions whether biographical researchers, in the social sciences, should be equally worried about "old ethical concerns in the face of new challenges and paradoxes".…”

Together or apart? Doing biographical research and oral history in an interdisciplinary context

“…The more standardised the interview, the more often the power relationship is unequal between the researchers and the interviewees. Currently, it is one of the important threads in the discussion in the field of ethics (Mauthner, 2019; Kaźmierska, 2020), especially regarding posthuman ethics, where it is suggested that the role difference between the researcher and the research subject should be completely abolished (Denzin and Giardina, 2007: 20). We are not in favour of such a radical solution.…”

“…From the moment an account is submitted in a publicly available archive, it is the institution's task to verify the people using the resource in such a way as to minimise the risk of unethical use. The problem is certainly weighty, and the process of sharing and disseminating requires a great deal of sensitivity and mindfulness from all parties involved and ethical tension remains (Gałęziowski, 2019;Kaźmierska, 2018Kaźmierska, , 2020.…”