ABSTRACT

Research in the humanities and social sciences thrives on critical reflections that unfold with each research project, not only in terms of knowledge created, but in whether chosen methodologies served their purpose.  Ethics forms the bulwark of any social science research methodology and it requires continuous engagement and reengagement for the greater advancement of knowledge. Each chapter in this book will draw from the empirical knowledge created through intensive fieldwork and provide an account of ethical questions faced by the contributors, placing them in the context of contemporary debates surrounding the theory and practice of ethics. The chapters have been thematically organized into five sections: Feminist Ethics: Cross-Cultural Reflections and Its Implications for Change; Researching Physical and Sexual Violence in Non-Academic Settings: A Need for Ethical Protocols; Human Agency, Reciprocity, Participation and Activism: Meanings for Social Science Research Ethics; Emotions, Conflict and Dangerous Fields: Issues of “Safety” and Reflective Research; and Social Science Education: Training in Ethics or “Ethical Training” and “Ethical Publicizing." This inter-disciplinary volume will interest students and researchers in academic and non-academic settings in core disciplines of Anthropology, Sociology, Law, Political Science, International Relations, Geography, or inter-disciplinary degrees in Development Studies, Health Studies, Public Health Policy, Social Policy, Health Policy, Psychology, Peace and Conflict studies, and Gender Studies. The book features a foreword by His Holiness The Dalai Lama.

chapter |4 pages

Social Science Research Ethics

An Introduction

chapter 1|24 pages

Social Science Research Ethics for a Globalizing World

A Critical Overview of Interdisciplinary and Cross-Cultural Perspectives

part I|88 pages

Feminist Ethics: Cross-Cultural Reflections and Its Implications for Change

chapter 2|15 pages

Gender and HIV/AIDS in India

Critical Reflections on the Feminist Research Ethics of “Making an Impact”

chapter 3|15 pages

Lessons from the Field

Cross-Cultural Gender Research

chapter 6|17 pages

Gender and Ethics

Exploring the Role Gender Plays in How People Perceive and Experience Research Participation

part II|48 pages

Researching Physical and Sexual Violence in Nonacademic Settings: A Need for Ethical Protocols

part III|76 pages

Human Agency, Reciprocity, Participation and Activism: Meanings for Social Science Research Ethics

chapter 9|20 pages

“Rights, Relationship and Reciprocity”

Ethical Research Practice with Refugee Women from Burma in New Delhi, India

chapter 10|21 pages

Dangers in Fieldwork

Research Ethics and the Predicament of Self-Harm in Anthropological Research

chapter 11|15 pages

Transforming the Lens of Vulnerability

Human Agency as an Ethical Consideration in Research with Refugees

part IV|30 pages

Emotions, Conflict and Dangerous Fields: Issues of “Safety” and Reflective Research

chapter 13|15 pages

Coping with the Barbarian Syndrome

The Challenges of Researching Civilian-Military Interaction “from Below” in the Eastern DR Congo

chapter 14|13 pages

Fieldwork and Safety in Social Science Research Ethics in China

A Comparative Gender Lens

part V|48 pages

Social Science Education: Training in Ethics or “Ethical Training” and “Ethical Publicizing”

chapter 17|13 pages

Vicarious Trauma and Safety Protocols for Sensitive Feminist Research

Reflections on the Research Process of Transcribing and Translating Interviews with HIV-Positive Women in India