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Animal Ethics Biosafety Human Research Ethics Research Integrity

Confidentiality, anonymity and power relations in elite interviewing: conducting qualitative policy research in a politicised domain (Papers: Kari Lancaster | January 2016)

Posted by Dr Gary Allen in Human Research Ethics on June 10, 2022
Keywords: Beneficence, Consent, Human research ethics, Privacy, Protection for participants, Researcher responsibilities, Respect for persons

The Linked Original Item was Posted On January, 8 2016

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Abstract

Even though this paper was published behind a paywall in January 2016, we have decided to include it in the AHRECS Resource Library because it offers useful advice about the ethical considerations when interviewing powerful persons, such as political figures.  Clearly, such persons are not vulnerable in the most common usage of the term, but there are still significant ethical issues (such as privacy and risk) to consider. We have included links to three related items.

While the methods used to study ‘elites’ are of particular relevance in policy research, to date there has been little examination of the particular challenges associated with ‘elite’ interviewing in this field. More specifically, the issues associated with interviewing ‘elites’ while conducting qualitative research in a contested policy domain, especially if policy processes are being studied as they play out in real time, remain underexplored. While the extant literature on ‘elite’ interviewing has begun to grapple with the notions of ‘power’ and ‘vulnerability’, the question of how these notions might need to be rethought in the context of a politicised policy domain remains open for examination. This article provides a methodological and reflexive account of the challenges associated with conducting research in one highly contested policy domain, namely, drug policy. Drawing on examples from a study which examined Australian drug policy processes, this article examines issues associated with anonymity and confidentiality produced through power relations between researcher and participant, particularly as these play out in a contested policy domain. In doing so, this article critically reflects on the practical and political implications for data collection, analysis and reporting of policy research.

Keywords:
Interviewelitespolicy researchanonymityconfidentialityvulnerabilitypower

Kari Lancaster (2017) Confidentiality, anonymity and power relations in elite interviewing: conducting qualitative policy research in a politicised domain. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 20:1, 93-103, DOI: 10.1080/13645579.2015.1123555
Publisher: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13645579.2015.1123555

Confidentiality, anonymity and power relations in elite interviewing: conducting qualitative policy research in a politicised domain
(2017). Confidentiality, anonymity and power relations in elite interviewing: conducting qualitative policy research in a politicised domain. International Journal of Social Research Methodology: Vol. 20, No. 1, pp. 93-103.

Related Reading

Respecting relational agency in the context of vulnerability: What can research ethics learn from the social sciences? (Papers: Jennifer Roest et. al. | January 2023)

Elite and Expert Interviewing – University of Oxford (Guidance: Central University Research Ethics Committee | November 2020)

Theranos whistleblowing and speaking truth to power – TED (Erika Cheung | February 2020)

China introduces ‘social’ punishments for scientific misconduct – Nature (David Cyranoski | December 2018)

Current Perspectives on Research Ethics in Qualitative Research (Wolff-Michael Roth, Hella von Unger | 2018)

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