Abstract
This paper presents six categories of key ethical issues that are important for researchers to consider when using visual methods in social research. The categories were identified during workshop discussions with researchers working across a range of disciplines and using various forms of visual methods.
The categories encompass both familiar and emerging ethical challenges, including widely accepted strategies for meeting ethical obligations to ensure participants’ informed consent, to maintain confidentiality, and to design and
conduct research that minimizes harm. Three further categories represent more novel ethical issues that are particularly prominent in visual methods:
managing fuzzy boundaries around the multiple purposes that visual research may serve, addressing questions of authorship and ownership of visual products generated during research, and dealing with representation and audiences when disseminating research findings. In this paper we reflect on the tensions these issues raise for visual researchers and consider potential strategies
to address these challenges. By providing practical, grounded examples of issues that researchers have grappled with when using various visual research techniques we contribute to a growing discourse regarding ethics in the practice of visual research. This differs from the top-down approach that often drives the development of ethical guidelines. While many existing debates focus on specific
methods, projects, or research disciplines, this paper adopts a broad lens to identify and critically assess ethical challenges that confront visual researchers
working across disciplinary boundaries.
The categories encompass both familiar and emerging ethical challenges, including widely accepted strategies for meeting ethical obligations to ensure participants’ informed consent, to maintain confidentiality, and to design and
conduct research that minimizes harm. Three further categories represent more novel ethical issues that are particularly prominent in visual methods:
managing fuzzy boundaries around the multiple purposes that visual research may serve, addressing questions of authorship and ownership of visual products generated during research, and dealing with representation and audiences when disseminating research findings. In this paper we reflect on the tensions these issues raise for visual researchers and consider potential strategies
to address these challenges. By providing practical, grounded examples of issues that researchers have grappled with when using various visual research techniques we contribute to a growing discourse regarding ethics in the practice of visual research. This differs from the top-down approach that often drives the development of ethical guidelines. While many existing debates focus on specific
methods, projects, or research disciplines, this paper adopts a broad lens to identify and critically assess ethical challenges that confront visual researchers
working across disciplinary boundaries.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 4-15 |
Number of pages | 17 |
Journal | Visual Methodologies |
Volume | 3 |
Issue number | 2 |
Publication status | Published - 2015 |