Summary
Contents
What should the researcher tell, or not tell the informant? Is fieldwork inherently an activity that requires covert behaviour by the researcher and subject alike? Are honesty and openness at odds with effectiveness in the field? In examining these questions, the author raises the ethical and practical issues of revelation and concealment in the field and attempts to arrive at a more useful set of norms for fieldwork behaviour.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Secrecy in research is risky but necessary business. If the social sciences are to continue to provide substantive, enduring insights into human experience, timid inquiry will not do. “Take it or leave it,” said Merleau-Ponty (1962). “We cannot have truth without danger” (p. 135). The personal, even physical risks of ...