ABSTRACT
In this narrative, Fida shares her long and established relationships with the Australian Muslim educational community when researching comprehensive sexuality education. In this narrative case study, she explores the deep ethical and moral dilemmas confronting ‘insider’ researchers like herself. As a devout and practicing Muslim, Fida explores how she navigates personal and professional relationships with participants, conflicting moral knowledge, and the challenging of religious, professional and researcher roles she finds herself in. Attempting to find more collective ways to conduct her research, Fida uses situated ethical approaches, which involve ways of collective knowledge, understanding the moral values, beliefs, assumptions and practices of individuals, institutions and social context. For example, building up relationships of trust was a complex process of layered permissions and gradually learning to negotiate power hierarchies within the relevant institutions. In her narrative, Fida also gives insights into the tensions and accommodations required when attempting to work with translating the demands of university ethics in religious and culturally appropriate ways. Particular emphasis is on addressing the unequal exchange that is inherent in many research relationships, agendas, and outcomes with the Muslim community.
