ABSTRACT
Chapter 6 focuses on how confidentiality is used in unstructured interviews and focus groups. The lesson here is that qualitative research techniques may have an identical epistemology, but how their ethical considerations manifest is technique-specific. This further develops the students’ understanding of their role as ethical researcher in adapting ethical concepts to practice contexts. Each technique possesses a unique set of ethical considerations. The strength of unstructured interviews are the robust confidentiality assurances offered between the researcher and the participant. Even after the interview has taken place and has been transcribed, a participant can withdraw a part of the interview or the whole interview. Ethical considerations offered to focus group participants are not the same. Focus group researchers cannot provide robust confidentiality assurances for focus group participants. A researcher cannot prevent a participant telling other people outside the focus group what others have said. The responsibility of participants is also introduced.
