Ethical dilemmas, creative solutions

Ethical dilemmas, creative solutions: Panel discussion on ethics in qualitative research

Co-hosted with the Black Dog Institute

Summary

Ethical considerations take both a core and peripheral place in research. While being a mandatory requirement in the research process, ethics can take a procedural direction, becoming a ‘tick-box’ exercise to satisfy governance bodies. Particularly for qualitative researchers, ethical requirements or recommendations can sometimes appear at odds with a chosen methodological or theoretical framework. Researchers can thus be faced with decisions about how to balance the priorities and particularities of their research design with that of meeting ethical approval.

Drawing on their wide-ranging experience, panel discussants will consider some of the key questions and challenges that qualitative researchers face. Through a lively discussion, they will share their insights and strategies in the on-going process of ‘ethics in practice’. This will be an interactive event, with audience members encouraged to submit anonymous questions prior to the event. A range of these will be selected for the panel members to answer, with time for some additional questions at the end. Refreshments will be provided afterwards.

Biographies

Susan Cox is Associate Professor in The W. Maurice Young Centre for Applied Ethics at the University of British Columbia. As a sociologist and qualitative health researcher, Susan has extensive experience in applying social scientific methods to ethics research and practice. Marilys Guillemin is a sociologist of health and illness, and Professor in the Centre for Health Equity, University of Melbourne. She has conducted research on how ethics committees and health researchers understand research ethics, how they address ethical issues in practice, and the ethical and methodological challenges of visual and sensory research. Caroline Lenette is Senior Lecturer in the School of Social Sciences, UNSW. Caroline’s research focuses on refugee and asylum seeker mental health and wellbeing. She also examines the ethics of visual-based research. Heather Worth is Professor of Global Health and Head of the International HIV Research Group in the School of Public Health and Community Medicine, UNSW. Her research focuses on HIV, refugees, gender & sexuality, and the political economy of AIDS. Heather has served on various human subjects’ ethics committees for 20 years; most recently, she was Presiding Member & Chair of the UNSW Human Research Ethics Committee. Russell Lowe is an architect in the Faculty of Built Environment, UNSW. Russell’s research on architectural space spans from construction safety simulation to land speed racing motorcycles. Russell is the convener of the Built Environment Human Research Ethics advisory panel, a role which he has held for the past 6 years.