For many researchers in the social sciences, including those in applied linguistics, the term ethics evokes the bureaucratic process of fulfilling the requirements of an ethics review board (e.g., in the US, an Institutional Review Board, or IRB) as a preliminary step in conducting human subjects research. The expansion of ethics review boards…

There is a dearth of methodological guidance on how to conduct participant observation in private spaces such as family homes. Yet, participant observations can provide deep and valuable data about family processes. This article draws on two ethnographic studies of family life in which researchers conduct in-depth interviews, recruit families, and…

Conducting qualitative research on young people with intellectual disability and the Internet poses methodological challenges as well as opportunities. Based on memos from a qualitative study, this article focuses on identified gaps related to the challenges of informed consent, access to Internet arenas and using stimulus materials.…

The ubiquitous use of social platforms across the globe makes them attractive options for investigating social phenomena including migration. However, the use of social media data raises several crucial ethical issues around the areas of informed consent, anonymity and profiling of individuals, which are particularly sensitive when looking at a…

Internet users' comments in online spaces have attracted researchers' attention in recent years. Although this data is typically publicly available, its use requires careful consideration so as to not cause harm to the users, while complying with the terms and conditions (Ts & Cs) of the online spaces. However, the Ts & Cs and researchers'…

To resist hegemonic campus sexual violence research trends rooted in postpositivist paradigms, I advocate for the centering of healing in research, particularly in the research methodologies that scholars employ. In this article, I invite researchers to (re)consider the purpose of research as a process that actively prioritizes and promotes…

Qualitative researchers often face unpredictable ethical issues during fieldwork. These may be regarded as ethical dilemmas that need to be 'solved', but Guillemin and Gillam's concept of 'ethically important moments' provides an alternative framing. Using examples, their concept is developed to suggest that ethical issues in the conduct of…

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought unprecedented, major challenges to the ethical conduct of research including challenges for the rapid and robust ethical review of biomedical research. The Indian Council of Medical Research's "National Guidelines for Ethics Committees Reviewing Biomedical and Health Research during COVID-19 Pandemic"…

It is natural that the use of visual methods in education be concerned with the consent of adults, as the many students are under the age of majority, and as such require the consent of their adult caregivers. What does this consent and integration of consent look like when considering visual methods with young adults? By opening up ownership of a…

A research project was conducted which explored LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) hate crime. Participants were invited to share their narratives and personal experiences of hate crime, discrimination and violence through semi-structured interviews. The study helped us understand how people who experience 'hate' responded to, managed and…

This paper considers some of the ethical issues surrounding the study of malicious activity in social networks, specifically using a technique known as "social honeypots" combined with the use of deception. This is a potentially touchy area of study that is common to social and behavioral research that is well understood to fall within…

This chapter provides a guide to research logistics and ethics in studying immigrant families. The authors outline major pragmatic issues in research design and data collection to which all scholars must attend, although current practices often do not respond to the idiosyncratic issues related to vulnerable immigrant populations (e.g.,…

The Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC) represents teachers and researchers of composition and communication in all possible genres, media, contexts, and exigencies; for the purpose of these guidelines, "writers" and "writing" will be all-encompassing, and the term "researcher" will refer to…

Human subjects research ethics were developed to ensure responsible conduct when university researchers learn by interacting with community members. As service-learning students also learn by interacting with community members, a similar set of principles may strengthen the ethical practice of service-learning. This article identifies ethical…

The conduct of timely, ethical and reliable research in matters directly affecting children and childhood is of increasing importance to contemporary research communities. However, the challenges of seeking ways in which to include children's perspectives requires critical deliberations and is beneficial at all stages of the research endeavour,…