For the greater good? Ethical reflections on interviewing the ‘rich’ and ‘poor’ in qualitative research

Abstract

There is increasing emphasis on understanding economic advantage alongside disadvantage -on studying both 'poverty' and 'riches'. This trend prompts and requires new ethical reflection. I argue that in qualitative research, a clearer distinction needs to be drawn between ethical commitments to individual research participants, and the group(s) to which they belong. This distinction is often elided in ethics guidelines and when researchers discuss their own work. Attending to the distinction highlights a symmetrical ethical dilemma: researchers studying disadvantage are often motivated to further the interests of the wider group to which their participants belong, yet the study itself risks eliciting or exacerbating negative experiences or identities amongst participants themselves. Conversely, the process of studying advantage frequently bolsters the positive identities or experiences of individual study participants, even as the research findings challenge or subvert the interests of their group.

Deflecting Privilege: Class Identity and the Intergenerational Self

“…It is important to reflect on how our own positionality – as three white male professionals – may have shaped the stories our interviewees felt able to tell. Indeed, as mentioned, misidentifications of working-class origin may have reflected interviewees’ desire to resist stereotypes of middle-class superiority they felt we wanted to impose (Mellor et al, 2014; Summers, 2020). Equally, the perceived class origins of ourselves, as interviewers, may have also impacted interviews.…”

Start-Up and Fraud Shenanigans: Case Study on Start-Ups Affiliated with Public Companies

“…In this study, there are several stages carried out, such as data collection and data analysis with a focus on understanding which focuses on meaning. This type of thick description research requires researchers to immerse themselves in the culture of events, conduct investigations on current events, and lead to concepts and theories by utilizing information obtained from informants (Summers, 2020).…”

“…In conducting interviews with informants, researchers used semi-structured interview techniques. The use of semistructured interview techniques provides a more flexible approach (Summers, 2020). Interviews were also conducted using a phronetic approach, an approach that suggests that qualitative research can be obtained, organized, interpreted, analyzed, and communicated systematically (Haven and Grootel, 2019).…”

“…Data analysis was carried out by analyzing the transcribed interview results (Hardinto et al, 2020) using a system of coding (Haven and Grootel, 2019) to reduce qualitative data (Summers, 2020). This stage aims to determine the fraud phenomenon that occurs and supports the factors identified as part of the literature review (Hardinto et al, 2020).…”

Indigenous parents and child welfare: Mistrust, epistemic injustice, and training

“…It matched the research team's expertise and resources. In contrast, for a study that foregrounded the voices of children or parents, recruitment would be more complex and the vulnerabilities and risks to mitigate, more acute (Summers, 2020; on children's participation in other legal processes, see, e.g. Bala et al, 2010).…”