Ethics In Qualitative Research

Qualitative research “refers in a broad sense to research that produces descriptive data, people’s own written or spoken words and observable behavior” (Taylor, Bogdan & DeVault, 2016). It has to do with the significance people attribute to things in their own lives. The data in qualitative research are words that are collected and then analyzed.

Ethical concerns are more complex for qualitative research than for quantitative methods because the methods applied in qualitative studies are more personal with the research playing a greater role for the investigator-participant relationship, hence ethical interaction are complex. The researcher is researching aspects of private lives of people and putting the findings available to the public,

This ethical principle is quite relevant in qualitative research as well. Ethics in qualitative research is a huge area as there are various approaches in qualitative research. Based on the approach the nature of data collection will also vary. This requires the researcher to be all the more prepared while dealing with data collection. For example, in ethnography, the researcher studies an ethnic race and a particular culture. In this case, the researcher has to spend time with the particular community being studied, understand their ways and have to try getting as close to them as possible. This can lead to a lot of conflicts if the actions taken by the researcher go

The well-being of the community, their privacy and whatever cultural and religious sentiments they value should also be valued and respected by the researcher. The community should never feel that they are being exploited. The researcher should never compromise on the promises made to the community or even individual participants. For example, if the researcher has agreed to send a translated version of the research that has been done by him /her, the words should be kept. These are a few ways in which one can show respect to the community for the effort they have taken for the research. The ethical principles in qualitative research are way more complex than in quantitative research. The participants and each observe each and every action of the researcher and the researcher, as he/her should think out action in advance her actions should not negatively impact the