‘The time where the British took the lead is over’: ethical aspects of writing in complex research partnerships

Abstract

Writing reflects some of the different characteristics of the language being used and of the people who are communicating. The present paper focusses on the internal written communication in international and inter-disciplinary research projects. Using a case study of an international public health research project, it argues that the authorship and the languages used in internal project communication are not neutral but help to generate or reinforce power hierarchies. Within research partnerships, language thus raises ethical issues that have so far been neglected. Current ethics guidelines often focus on interactions between scientists and participants of social research and clinical trials, with less attention paid to the interactions among the scientists themselves. Describing all the different project phases based on writing within a research project, the paper distinguishes different influences on the distribution of power that emerge through a focus on written communication. The focus of the present paper is to illuminate the issues of ethics, power and the dimensions of hierarchy, physical location and native versus non-native English speakers that arise from paying attention to such communications.

Untitled

“…• Svitlana Amelina, National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine, Ukraine [1] • Oksana Chernysh, Zhytomyr Polytechnic State University, Ukraine [36] • Vita Hamaniuk, Kryvyi Rih State Pedagogical University, Ukraine [35] • Věra Höppnerová, Westböhmische Universität Pilsen, Czech Republic [7] • Valentyna Karpiuk, Kryvyi Rih State Pedagogical University, Ukraine [9] • Yuliya Kazhan, Mariupol State University, Ukraine [10] • Svetlana Kovpik, Kryvyi Rih State Pedagogical University, Ukraine [21] • Vahid Norouzi Larsari, Charles University, Czech Republic [28] • Alla Lobanova, Kryvyi Rih State Pedagogical University, Ukraine [15] • Lyudmyla Lutsenko, Kryvyi Rih State Pedagogical University, Ukraine [17] • Rusudan Makhachashvili, Borys Grinchenko University, Ukraine [29] • Iryna Mintii, Kryvyi Rih State Pedagogical University, Ukraine [22] • Ümit Özkanal, Eskişehir Osmangazi Üniversitesi [24] • Halyna Pavlyshyn, University of Tasmania, Australia [3] • Iryna Piankovska, Volodymyr Vynnychenko Central Ukrainian State University, Ukraine [27] • Thorsten Roelcke, Technische Universität Berlin, Germany [26] • Doris Sava, Universitatea "Lucian Blaga" din Sibiu, Romania [18] • Serhiy Semerikov, Kryvyi Rih State Pedagogical University, Ukraine [32] • Mateusz Świetlicki, University of Wrocław, Poland [31] • Yana Topolnyk, Donbas State Pedagogical University, Ukraine [6] • Maryna Vardanian, Heidelberg University, Germany [38] • Søren Wichmann, University of Kiel, Germany [40]…”