大象传媒

Research Ethics: Principles and聽Values

The three聽commonly held key聽principles of聽ethical聽research聽with human participants聽are聽鈥榬espect for persons鈥�,聽鈥榖eneficence鈥櫬燼nd聽鈥榡ustice鈥�.聽These principles are upheld in research through the practices of informed and free consent, confidentiality,聽and risk assessment.聽While these principles are originally rooted in biomedical research, particularly聽the聽1979聽, they have become cornerstones of most聽social scientific聽ethics codes, which聽apply and聽develop聽these principles to specific disciplines including anthropology聽 and law聽(for example, see聽guidelines from the聽聽and the聽).听

While ethics codes are useful for establishing high-level principles for research and support research governance within institutions, navigating the 鈥榚veryday鈥� ethical dilemmas requires a more holistic approach.聽Van聽Ilempt聽and聽Bilger聽(2018)聽discuss how they worked around the gaps of high-level ethics principles and generalised protocols in their research with smuggled migrants.聽The authors argue that the ethics codes are designed for research where there is a clear demarcation between the 鈥榬esearcher鈥� and 鈥榬esearched鈥�. In research such as theirs聽鈥榳hich understands research subjects as participating agents carrying knowledge and interpreting their own life worlds, ethical concerns of justice, fairness and moral actions鈥�, this guidance is insufficient. Van聽Ilempt聽and聽Bilger聽reflect on issues that arise when working with聽irregularised聽migrants such as building trust,聽representing narratives and privacy.聽, in聽her fieldwork聽on聽refugee聽status聽determination聽in Canada,聽suggests looking at field diaries as a way to bridge the gap between formal ethics practices in the 鈥榚veryday聽ethics鈥櫬爀ncountered by ethnographers.聽

鈥榁irtue聽ethics鈥櫬爉ay provide a聽broader聽framework for thinking about research ethics more holistically.聽聽explains聽how ethics can be placed at centre of research from conception to its completion through the application of the virtues of courage, respectfulness, resoluteness, sincerity, humility, reflexivity at all stages of research.聽The Association of the Social Anthropologists of Britain and the Commonwealth (ASA) reflect on the value of an approach to research ethics that draws on virtue ethics and include a list of resources for ethnographers in their webpage 鈥樷��. This is part of the tool 鈥樎爐o assist anthropologists and ethnographers聽reflect聽on聽and navigate.聽聽聽

Codes聽of Ethics聽and Protocols

International Association for the Study of Forced Migration (IASFM)聽聽is dedicated to ethical conduct in research聽on聽forced migration.聽The聽seminar聽聽brings into conversation some of the drafters of the IASFM Code of Ethics聽with researchers and refugees. The seminar covers topics raised in forced migration research that are not addressed in existing ethics codes:聽聽aworking聽with people with聽a precarious聽legal聽status, surveillance, criminalisation of migration and research in deeply politicised contexts.聽聽聽

A further resource for聽research in forced migration聽include聽the 鈥樷�� documents produced by the Canadian Refugee Council, the Canadian Association for the Study of聽Refugee and聽Forced Migration聽大象传媒 (CARFMS)聽and the Centre for Refugee 大象传媒 at York University聽(CRS). Available in 8 languages, this document sets out key terms聽and principles in research聽and rights of research participants.聽聽

Authorship聽protocols, such as聽those聽produced by the聽,聽are聽useful for building a framework for assigning authorship聽to聽fairly聽recognise everyone鈥檚 contribution in project outputs.聽

Literature聽on Ethics in Forced Migration

The field of research on ethics in forced migration research is burgeoning.聽

In her article 鈥樷�櫬燙hristina Clark-Kazak聽discusses how principles of research ethics apply to forced migration, and identifies academic literature on ethics in forced migration.聽

The聽Forced Migration Review聽聽dedicated to聽鈥楨thics鈥櫬爀xplores聽numerous facets of ethics聽in forced migration.聽聽It includes articles on聽unethical state and agency practices refugees face in their daily lives, such as the use of new technologies by humanitarian actors (Molnar 2019) and social media surveillance (Brekke and Staver 2019), the ethical considerations in聽鈥榦ver-鈥� and聽鈥榰nder-researched鈥� populations,聽(Omata聽2019, Kaoma 2019,聽Luetz聽2019), and challenges faced by humanitarian actors providing refugees services.聽聽

Ethics and the political economy of knowledge production

Ethical research聽on聽forced migration聽requires us to pay attention聽the political economy of knowledge production.聽In the context of inequality with between the Global South (where聽the majority of聽refugees live) and the Global North (where the majority of research institutions and funders are), how can forced migration research be ethical?

聽(2019)聽describe聽a case study among Syrian聽and Lebanese聽research assistants working on UK-directed聽research projects聽in Lebanon with Syrian refugees between 2012 and 2018.聽The research assistants聽reported being in聽exploitative labour relationships where their concerns were not addressed and their contribution to projects聽was not聽recognised.聽The authors situate聽the聽alienation and exploitation of the research assistants they interviewed in the聽context of聽the聽political聽economy of university research, and more specifically,聽the 鈥榬efugee research industry鈥櫬爓hich can only be resolved through a聽鈥榝undamental rethinking and聽restructuring of the global production of academic research鈥�.

聽discuss the findings of their research聽on聽knowledge production in聽North-South聽forced migration research聽partnerships聽and聽the聽localisation of research.聽They聽advocate for moving beyond partnerships, which may replicate some of the unequal power relationships to acts such as 鈥榙irect funding to researchers and research centres based in the global South, an emphasis on the transfer of power to researchers in the South, a recognition of the diverse forms and sources of knowledge produced within the field, and an appreciation for the diverse understandings of success and impact across contexts.鈥�

These debates, while focused on North-South partnerships also raise important聽questions for researchers in the Global North working with refugees聽there聽by聽calling attention聽to聽issues such as聽the role of funders聽and universities聽in shaping聽the 鈥榬esearch聽industry鈥櫬燼nd how refugees are included in research.聽Ammar聽Azzouz聽reflects on the political economy of research on Syrian displacement聽as a Syrian refugee and academic himself聽in聽the blog, 鈥樷�櫬�, based on her research with refugees in Greece,聽calls attention to how anthropologists may聽perpetuate the divisions they seek to challenge in their work聽through 鈥榗risis chasing, or the propensity to take crisis as a driver of scholarship; assuming that 鈥渞efugee experiences鈥� need to be studied; and, finally, heeding the call to 鈥渄o good鈥� through scholarship in ways that deflect attention from anthropology鈥檚 own politics of life.鈥� She聽argues that a reflexive approach to how knowledge is produced in academia, being aware of the 鈥榖usiness of anthropology鈥�, adopting practices of 鈥榮low academia鈥� and 鈥榙e-exceptionalising鈥� refugee voices, offer ways forward to overcoming some of the ethical聽pitfalls聽anthropologists working on displacement may encounter.聽聽

Initiatives聽and Networks聽

There are some initiatives of that aim to foster ethical research聽practices.聽

聽is a collective of scholars and practitioners from non-refugee backgrounds who are advocating to 鈥榮hare their platforms鈥� with colleagues with refugee backgrounds. Their website features interviews with academics and practitioners and a recording of their inaugural event.

聽is a partnership between academic institutions and civil society聽鈥榓ims to better understand and enhance the role of civil society in responding to the needs of refugees in the global south.鈥� The partnership also looks at knowledge production on forced migration.聽

聽was established by UNHCR following聽the聽commitment of the聽鈥楪lobal Compact for Refugees鈥� to 鈥榓 global academic network on refugee, other forced displacement, and statelessness issues will be established, involving聽universities, academic alliances, and research institutions, together with UNHCR and other relevant stakeholders.鈥� (paragraph聽43).听The network is developing good practices.