Essentials of Thinking Ethically in Qualitative Research

Ethical dimensions of qualitative research are constantly emerging and shifting. This volume identifies relevant ethical principles that can guide novice researchers through the research process with the necessary wisdom and insight to shape a project in sound, meaningful, and thoughtful ways. Well known for their work in this area, the van den Hoonaards outline the domains on which ethics most often impinge. They address key ethical issues arising in different qualitative traditions and contexts. The volume concludes with guidance on how to navigate formal ethics reviews. Many key examples and other resources help the student engage the complicated literature on this topic.

Will C. van den Hoonaard is Professor Emeritus at the University of New Brunswick, and Research Associate at the Atlantic Centre for Qualitative Research and Analysis, St. Thomas University, Fredericton, Canada. He has authored or edited eight books, including The Seduction of Ethics: Transforming the Social Sciences (2011), Walking the Tightrope: Ethical Issues for Qualitative Researchers (2002) and The Ethics Trapeze, as a special issue of the Journal of Academic Ethics. In the field of research ethics, he has also contributed to such journals as the Journal of Academic Ethics, the Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology, and the Journal for Empirical Research on Human Research Ethics. He is a founding member of Canada’s Inter-Agency Advisory Panel on Research Ethics and the first Chair of its Social Sciences and Humanities Working Committee on Ethics. A long-standing field researcher, he has conducted research in Iceland, among the Dutch of New Brunswick, the Baha’i Community of Canada, the world of mapmakers, and research ethics boards. A Woodrow Wilson Fellow, he holds other awards, including his University’s Merit Award, the “Global Citizen” Award on occasion of the 50th anniversary of the United Nations, and the University of New Brunswick President’s Medal (2007).

Deborah K. van den Hoonaard is well known throughout Atlantic Canada for her research in gerontology which focuses on the social aspects of aging. She is Canada Research Chair in Qualitative Research and Analysis and Professor of Gerontology at St. Thomas University in Fredericton. She is author of The Widowed Self: The Older Woman's Journey Through Widowhood (2001), By Himself: The Older Man's Experience of Widowhood (2010) and Qualitative Research in Action (2012). The van den Hoonards are joint authors of The Equality of Women and Men: The Experience of the Baha’i Community of Canada (2006).