ABSTRACT
Watching other people live their lives, asking people about their experiences, and using words to tell others’ stories are hallmarks of social science research methods. Because of the close relationship of the researcher to the researched forged with these methods, the power of research to both help and harm is often felt acutely by researchers. Ethical responsibilities permeate our lives and implicate us in all sorts of unsavory situations. Even with the best of intentions, we can be blindsided by our carelessness and violence. We strive to do good and to do no harm, but being ethical, it turns out, is not as easy as following the guidelines of one’s profession or institutional review board (IRB). Our diverse ways of conceptualizing protection and goodness leave us without the foundations we may have once believed grounded our ethical decisions. Although the presence of IRBs and professional codes of ethics give the appearance of a common basis to resolve ethical dilemmas, the ground becomes shaky indeed under the feet of social science researchers.
