ETHICAL CHALLENGES OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH IN COMMUNITIES: FROM PLANNING TO THE RESEARCH REPORT

The paper critically examines ethical challenges in qualitative research. The major point of departure is the claim that quantitative research is different from qualitative in a methodological sense, but the research ethics is not fundamentally different though there is a difference in intensity, amount and presence of ethical concerns. However, because of this difference the ethical issues in qualitative research are more epistemological in nature and are essentially methodological; hence if left unresolved, they could directly influence the validity and reliability of the research. The paper outlines an ethical map of qualitative research which defines the whole process, starting from preparation of the research, through data collection, with an emphasis on the research-participant relationship, and ending with the reporting of results. We discuss the ethical aspects of all research phases, with special importance being placed on the ethics of building the relationship between the researcher and participants. Specific aspects of inform consent in qualitative research have been analyzed as well as the ethics of reporting the results. Starting from the critical theory point of view, an approach of positive or active ethics has been established, advocating the practice of the highest ethical standards as necessary preconditions for conducting trustworthy qualitative research.