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Ethical review
➲ Linguistic field research typically requires ethical approval
➲ Proposals must be submitted to university committees before any research starts
➲ “Protection of human subjects”➲ What ethical problems do you need to
address in your statement – that is, in planning your research?
Why me? Why my project?➲ Some research clearly needs human
subjects review: testing novel medicines; inducing distress in psychological studies
➲ Phonetics: tracheal punctures➲ Linguistic fieldwork? Talking to people?➲ Ethical issues do require careful thought...➲ … even more so because fieldwork IS
different, and standard protocols are not always appropriate
Some basic principles➲ Don’t do anything against someone’s will➲ Don’t inconvenience people or do things
that will make them regret working with you➲ Reciprocity➲ Do be sensitive to local culture and
community dynamics, and your place in it➲ Be respectful and keep an open mind➲ Concrete ways of following these principles
may be highly situation-specific
The Planning Stage
Deciding what language or language variety to work on
Motivations: general-linguistic, cultural, specific-linguistic... adventure...
Will you and your work be welcome? Are your goals ethically feasible? Essential to make preliminary contacts and
feel out the situation; avoid pressuring Cf. colonialist/imperialist paradigm
Permission to Research
A privilege, not a right Will you need official consent from
community leaders (e.g. chief, elders)? How do you build trust – a prerequisite?
Sincerity necessary, but usually not sufficient Intermediate contacts who are already known
and trusted in the community Invest time building relationships with people
Effects of power asymmetries
Informed Consent
➲ When you find people willing to work with you, you must obtain informed consent
➲ Advance understanding of what you are doing, and what they will be asked to do
➲ Be specific➲ Freedom to withdraw at any time➲ Overt agreement to participate➲ Must be documented
Written vs. Oral Consent
Ethical review committees often want to see a signed, contract-like document
Not appropriate to many field situations What if people don’t read and write? Can create rather than relieve suspicion -
“signing away rights” Oral agreements may be held in higher esteem
Reading a prepared statement?
Obtaining Oral Consent Better: have a natural conversation where
you explain everything, ask for permission This is an important conversation to have –
it’s not just for the committee You need to judge the success of the
communication, their ability to give consent You can have natural conversations first,
then ask to record a less natural version
Anonymity
Generic “human subjects” protocols require you to guarantee anonymity
Not always appropriate for fieldwork People may want to be acknowledged; you
may want to acknowledge them Alternatively, there may be cultural or
personal reasons not to use names You need to find out what they want
Making Recordings
➲ Always need informed consent to record➲ Why would anyone do covert recording?
People get unnatural when the mike’s out Spontaneous events – no time to stop and ask You don’t know if they’d give permission, but it’s
reeeaaally good/valuable material
➲ These reasons generally don’t fly➲ Use a less obtrusive microphone... be
patient and continue to develop trust
Making Recordings
➲ Unforeseen sensitive topics can come up➲ Participants should be able to stop
recording at any time, or ask to delete material after it’s been recorded
➲ Passers-by: unintentional covert recording➲ In such cases, it may be acceptable to get
post-hoc consent, as soon as possible
Access to Recordings
➲ What happens to the recordings? ➲ Who will be able to listen to them? Just
you? Local people? Anyone at all?➲ Archiving
Public vs. restricted access Restrictions by type of material
➲ Try to foresee every possible future use or audience and find out how the person feels
➲ Later, it may be impossible to get permission
Compensation
How do you compensate people for the time and expertise they share with you?
Monetary payment is common By the hour/session/etc. Presentation style matters
Pay well, but not so much that it creates the potential for coercion
When working with different people, keep “fairness” in mind
Non-monetary compensation
Some people may not want to accept money Other ways to compensate people
Buying food, medicine Doing housework or running errands Find out how you can be useful
You may want to do this even if you are also paying them
Wider Considerations
To what extent do ethics dictate the content of your research?
What ethical obligations do you have to the community – linguistic, sociopolitical?
General behavior: humility rarely regretted Unforeseen issues: developing judgment Balancing the desire to share expertise with
caution about imposing ideologies
Thank you!
