Preamble

This code of ethics has been created to guide our behavior as we engage in ethnographic research via online surveys and virtual interviews. Given the remote nature of our research methods, it is crucial that we recognize the possible ethical dilemmas that may arise. Therefore, this code of ethics is meant to remind us of our responsibilities and obligation to our participants. As ethnographers we must always remember the importance of the following:

  1. Sensitivity: The principle of care lies at the core of ethnographic ethics. We must remember that the ethnographer’s definition of care is based in a sensitivity to the concerns of our participants. This means we must bet attentive to and willing to learn and proceed with the participants’ understandings of harm in order to avoid negatively affecting them. Given that online and virtual communication styles have a tendency to lead to participants being more open and vulnerable, researchers must be ready to listen, acknowledge, address, and assist in any way that is feasible. There should be the expectation and preparation to respond to participant’s anxieties, concerns, and even confessions of trauma and sufferings. Overall, we must work to both avoid doing anything that can be perceived as harm by the participants and work to leave a positive impact on the communities we interact with.
  2. Technology: Consider the type of technology required for participation in the study. Be prepared to assist participants in how to use and access necessary sites or databases. Be willing to adapt research methods (moving from video calls to phone calls) to ensure adequate participation.
  3. Anonymity: We must maintain and uphold anonymity and confidentiality for all participants throughout the research period and afterwards. We must continually be active in our search for potential risks to confidentiality and structure our methods in a way that ensures anonymity for everyone involved. Researchers should also share their final projects with participants before publishing it in case any information can potentially compromise their anonymity.
  4. Security: Due to the digital nature of remote research, there are security risks that must be addressed and resolved prior to and throughout the research period. Most importantly, there must be secure methods of contacts (encoded messages, private links, etc.) to protect intimate details from being misdirected or accessed by the wrong people.
  5. Consent: There must be continued informed consent. At every step of the research process, the researcher must be transparent and ensure that the participants are fully knowledgeable about what they are participating in and are comfortable with the use of data collected from them.
  6. Flexibility: We should remember to be aware of potential shifts in the social, political, and economic aspects of our participant’s lives, and be prepared to change our approach to the research methods to accommodate changes in the participants’ lives. We must also be willing to change the guidelines of care as deemed necessary by potential shifts in the situation. Additionally, we must be willing to take what we learn from our questionnaires and interviews to shape future questions so that we are always framing our work around what is important to our participants. We should avoid leading questions and making assumptions about what participants are telling us. Rather, we should let them direct us towards what they find important.
  7. Throughout the research period, it is essential that we prioritize the wellbeing of participants over the gathering of data. In the spirit of care, we should make ourselves available to our participants even in moments when we are not collecting data. It is necessary that we realize that goal of our work is not just knowledge production but an understanding of difference and discovery of the issues and opinions that shape the lives of our participants.