Ethics review and freedom of information requests in qualitative research:

Research Ethics

KevinWalby¹ 

关键词: ethics creep;    freedom of information;    oversight;    qualitative research;    research ethics;   

DOI  :  10.1177/1747016117750208

学科分类：医学（综合）

来源: Sage Journals

【 摘 要 】

Freedom of information (FOI) requests are increasingly used in sociology, criminology and other social science disciplines to examine government practices and processes. University ethical review boards (ERBs) in Canada have not typically subjected researchers’ FOI requests to independent review, although this may be changing in the United Kingdom and Australia, reflective of what Haggerty calls ‘ethics creep’. Here we present four arguments for why FOI requests in the social sciences should not be subject to formal ethical review by ERBs. These four arguments are: existing, rigorous bureaucratic vetting; double jeopardy; infringement of citizenship rights; and unsuitable ethics paradigm. In the discussion, we reflect on the implications of our analysis for literature on ethical review and qualitative research, and for literature on FOI and government transparency.

【 授权许可】

CC BY