Ethics and Ethnography: An Experiential Account

An ethical dilemma faced by the first author during the fieldwork of an ethnographic study of expertise in anesthesia is discussed, which argues that this process of shaping the data is a symbiotic one in which the researcher and the community being studied construct the data together.

Abstract

In this article, the authors discuss an ethical dilemma faced by the first author during the fieldwork of an ethnographic study of expertise in anesthesia. The example, written from the perspective of the first author, addresses a number of ethical issues commonly faced, namely, the researcher-researched relationship, anonymity and confidentiality, privacy, and exploitation. She deliberates on the influences that guided her decision and in doing so highlights some of the elements that combine to shape the data. The authors argue that this process of shaping the data is a symbiotic one in which the researcher and the community being studied construct the data together.