ETHICAL GUIDELINES FOR SOCIAL RESEARCH
RECs shall recognize such perspectives and methods by
Social research covers a wide range of academic
disciplines with a host of interrelated and various
theoretical and methodological approaches, even within
a particular field of study. The human aspect of social
science research makes it a complex endeavor and may
lead to differences and divergences in ethical
considerations and requirements. It typically takes place
in the research participants’ communities, homes, and
workspaces.
It involves in-person interactions that reveal internal or
intimate aspects of the person, such as attitudes and
behaviors about social relationships, family and work
life, and lifestyle. Given this more immersive aspect of
social research, ethics demands that social scientists
conduct their research in ways that privilege and
protect the safety and well-being of participants and
acknowledge the participants’ and their communities’
indispensable contributions to scholarship. It is the
responsibility of researchers to be aware of the ethical
issues involved in their work, anticipate possible ethical
concerns, craft protection strategies, and make the
necessary referrals to RECs, others with relevant
expertise, the appropriate organizations, and agencies if
the need arises.
All social research must adhere to the General
Guidelines, based on international ethical guidelines for
research. These guidelines aim to encourage
researchers to think through the ethical issues that may
arise during the entire research process. They should
see how they can, in utmost good faith, uphold the
requirements of respect for persons, beneficence, and
justice given the particular theoretical and
methodological underpinnings of the research from the
preparation of a research proposal until the archiving
and destruction or disposal of raw research data. To
enable researchers to reflect on the above principles
further critically, the guidelines contain references to
ethics codes and legal norms relied upon as their basis.
Some theoretical perspectives and research methods
use inductive logic to
produce or develop theories and hypotheses during the
fieldwork. It will not be immediately possible for
researchers using such methods to provide RECs with
specifically formulated research questions and
instruments and to identify all possible participants
whom the researcher may encounter during fieldwork.
formulating procedures and mechanisms that allow for
flexibilities in research design and modifications of topic
focus as the research is carried out. For instance,
protocol amendments, periodic monitoring, and
continuing review are mechanisms that permit
researchers and RECs to pursue ethical standards
beyond the initial approval. Researchers using said
perspectives and methods must deal with ethical issues
during the protocol’s continuing review and respond to
different circumstances that may arise during the study.
General Issues
While most ethical concerns in social research are
similar in other categories of research, there are certain
unique issues given that the context of the research and
the role of the researcher are different compared to
clinical or controlled studies. Ethical issues concern the
role the research plays in addressing social inequities or
power relations between the researcher and the
participants, which may impact the informed consent
process. Moreover, the nature of the risks to
participants and the strategies to mitigate them may
not be as easily apparent as they go beyond physical or
health risks.
Hence, it is critical that researchers seriously consider
the various life situations of participants to address
their concerns and issues adequately and more
realistically. The traditional relationship between the
researchers and the people they study may at times
involve an imbalance in power in favor of the
researcher. The researcher may have greater access to
resources than the people they study, especially if the
sample population is a marginalized group. Researchers
may unknowingly take advantage of this imbalance
when seeking to enter communities, households, and
the personal and social lives of participants.
Therefore, the burden is on the researcher to be
reflexive in acknowledging and correcting imbalances in
relating with respondents that are biased in favor of
their objectives or that undermine the freedom and
contributions of the participants. Research participants
can be viewed rather as co- producers of knowledge,
and researchers should undertake measures to clarify
and balance the roles of all stakeholders involved in the
study.
An example of these measures would be to increase the
level of participation