Nagendralingan Ratnavadivel
Faculty of Cognitive Sciences & Human Development
Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris
 

Date: 25 October 2001
Time: 11.30-12.00

The researcher is often the main instrument in qualitative research. From accessing the research site and context to the writing up of the research, the researcher plays and active and prominent role. The question of bias is often raised in research employing qualitative methodology. In fact, ethics transcends the entire process of qualitative research and constitutes the basis for research integrity. This paper will focus on the role of ethics in relation to role of the researcher as the main instrument in qualitative research. It will discuss the issue of ethics from the perspective of negotiation of access, data collection, data analysis, data interpretation and reporting. This research process will be discussed in relation to the principles of reciprocity and equality of status, openness, independence, impartiality, confidentiality and accountabilty. This discussion will be viewed in the context of the responsibility of the researcher and the rights of the researched. Cultural context and power relations will form the framework within which the principles will be scrutinized. It will also analyse the rights of the researcher and the researched and its implications for the validity of the study. The study will draw from the experience of the writer’s involvement in several research projects using the qualitative research paradigm and methods in the Malaysian context.