ABSTRACT
Research in the enlightenment tradition tends to raise ethical issues more frequently than engineering research does. Because it is closer to the subjects of the research, and more revealing about them, a tension is created between the need to disclose in order to achieve greater illumination and the need to conceal in order to protect the subjects of research. In such instances the researcher is in a double bind: anonymizing the context and withholding or changing information about it undermines external observers’ ability to check findings and raises doubts about the validity and reliability of the research; but complete openness puts respondents in jeopardy.
