Ethical and Political Issues in Contemporary Research Relationships

Bibliographic Data

ID2321838
AuthorsRachel Aldred (0000-0001-7413-7251, University of East London, corresponding author)
Year2008
Volume42
Issue5
Pages887-903
Publication date2008-10-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSociology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0038-0385 • E-ISSN: 1469-8684
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0038038508094568
OpenAlexW2122611488
LanguageEN
Citations received12
References cited22

This article discusses how ethical and political issues affect contemporary research relationships. It focuses on the responsibilities of researchers studying organizations and elites, and the discussion draws upon the author's experience of researching NHS primary health care services. The article reviews the spread of 'ethical guidelines' from medical to social research. Such guidelines primarily address ethical problems relating to individual researcher-researched relationships. Sociologists have criticized the application of medically based guidelines to social research, while often accepting an ethical framework based on the researcher-researched dyad. But this limited conception of ethical responsibilities leaves complex organizational power hierarchies and their effects undertheorized. Researchers may then be vulnerable and lack guidance where organizational loyalties and market mechanisms have undermined the traditional supports of academic independence and professionalism. Sociologists could learn from critical medical scientists' responses to some related ethical dilemmas, as some medical researchers have experienced these issues more acutely and for longer

Affect (linguistics) · Dyad · Engineering ethics · Political science · Politics · Power (physics) · Public relations · Research ethics · Sociology · Global Health Workforce Issues · Healthcare Systems and Challenges · Law · Primary Care and Health Outcomes · Psychology · Social Psychology

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