When a ‘Social Worker’ is NOT a Social Worker
Reflections of the Ethical Tensions that Emerge When Imposter Participants Present as Social Workers
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 19226503 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Ciarán Murphy (0000-0002-7137-0389, Edge Hill University, corresponding author), Joe Hanley (0000-0002-5505-6760, Open Society), Rachel Brougham (0000-0002-6541-084X, Buckinghamshire New University), Nazm Berry (Buckinghamshire New University), Jermaine Ravalier (0000-0002-8418-4841, Buckinghamshire New University), Paulina Wegrzynek (0009-0001-4060-7726, Bath Spa University), Marria Riaz (Buckinghamshire New University), Rhiannon Cullen (Buckinghamshire New University) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Pages | 1-13 |
| Publication date | 2026-06-08 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Ethics and Social Welfare (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1749-6535 • E-ISSN: 1749-6543 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/17496535.2026.2671035 |
| OpenAlex | W7163910689 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 15 |
This ethics in practice article reflects on the ethical dilemmas and tensions that emerged from a research study employing online interviews with social workers in the context of (i) how to respond to suspected Imposter Participants (ii) whether to report individuals for fraudulently posing as social workers; (iii) how to better screen for Imposter Participants whilst minimising the chance of excluding genuine participants and (iv) whether to reimburse suspected Imposter Participants for their time. The article also makes recommendations for researchers seeking to recruit a similar participant demographic by way of a ‘what we would do differently next time’ section
Social relation · Forgiveness and Related Behaviors · Perfectionism, Procrastination, Anxiety Studies · Social Work Education and Practice · Social Work
The ethical anatomy of payment for research participants
Imposter Participants in Synchronous Qualitative Research
Threats to Online Surveys
Enhancing Research-Based Social Work by Facilitating Practitioner Research–Enabling Factors and Issues to be Resolved
Increasing the Confidence and Competence of Social Work Researchers
Centering Community and Mediating Online Survey Threats
Recruitment and Retention of Social Workers as Research Participants
Management of imposter participants when conducting online research with victim-survivors and perpetrators of violence
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |