ABSTRACT
The call for geographical research to be more ethically and morally responsible has witnessed an increase in thought and writing on the ethics of research (Smith, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001; Hay, 1998; Cloke, 2002; Cutchin, 2002; Valentine, 2003). This has led Pain (2003, p. 655) to be optimistic that truly social geographies (those that seek solutions to social problems) are remobilizing. At the same time there is increasing awareness among funding bodies of the need to consider research ethics and several now require investigators to reflect on relevant ethical issues, if not to undergo an independent ethical review of their project as a condition for releasing funds (see for example, Nuffield Foundation, 2004). As part of this move for more morally responsible research (Cloke, 2002), the inclusion of appropriate dissemination strategies is now an integral part of research proposals with an expectation that research will be returned to participants and that dissemination will extend beyond academic outputs (see for example, ESRC, 2005).
