Chapter 15: Qualitative Research Ethics: An Agenda for Researchers and Research Organisations

New developments in methodologies, technologies, and evolving ways of conceptualising research relationships have added complexity to the existing ethical challenges faced by qualitative researchers. Although generalist rule-based ethics frameworks struggle to anticipate and respond to dynamic qualitative methodologies, reflections by researchers offer some important ways forward on these issues. We argue that qualitative researchers and research organisations should go beyond the project-based practice of research ethics review to: (1) reflect on ethical issues that qualitative researchers are encountering; (2) learn from the diversity of approaches to ethics appraisal and review; (3) embed ethics across curricula; (4) strengthen institutional resources for social research ethics; and (5) recognise that institution-wide measures to support research integrity are necessary to facilitate ethical research. While there has long been a focus on the responsibilities of individual researchers in this context, they also need a research ecosystem that will support ethical practice. We propose several ways organisations can reconfigure structures and practices to better support ethics and integrity in diverse modes of qualitative research.