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On Being Let Loose in the Field: The Execution of Professional Ethics
Author(s) -
McAreavey Ruth
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
sociologia ruralis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.005
H-Index - 84
eISSN - 1467-9523
pISSN - 0038-0199
DOI - 10.1111/soru.12010
Subject(s) - bureaucracy , engineering ethics , situated , reflexivity , context (archaeology) , information ethics , corporate governance , applied ethics , professional ethics , harm , empirical research , field (mathematics) , research ethics , sociology , public relations , political science , social science , management , law , engineering , epistemology , politics , paleontology , philosophy , mathematics , artificial intelligence , computer science , pure mathematics , economics , biology
In recent years concerns over litigation and the trend towards close monitoring of academic activity has seen the effective hijacking of research ethics by university managers and bureaucrats. This can effectively curtail cutting edge research as perceived ‘safe’ research strategies are encouraged. However, ethics is about more than research governance. Ultimately, it seeks to avoid harm and to increase benefits to society. Rural development debate is fairly quiet on the question of ethics, leaving guidance to professional bodies. This study draws on empirical research that examined the lives of migrant communities in N orthern I reland. This context of increasingly diverse rural development actors provides a backdrop for the way in which the researcher navigates through ethical issues as they unfold in the field. The analysis seeks to relocate ethics from being an annoying bureaucratic requirement to one where it is inherent to rigorous and professional research and practice. It reveals how attention to professional ethics can contribute to effective, situated and reflexive practice, thus transforming ethics to become an asset to professional researchers.