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Informed consent, anticipatory regulation and ethnographic practice

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  • Murphy, Elizabeth
  • Dingwall, Robert

Abstract

In this paper we examine the application of informed consent to ethnographic research in health care settings. We do not quarrel with either the principle of informed consent or its translation into the requirement that research should only be carried out with consenting participants. However, we do challenge the identification of informed consent with the particular set of bureaucratic practices of ethical review which currently operate in Canada, the US and elsewhere. We argue that these anticipatory regulatory regimes threaten the significant contribution of ethnographic research to the creation of more efficient, more effective, more equitable and more humane health care systems. Informed consent in ethnographic research is neither achievable nor demonstrable in the terms set by anticipatory regulatory regimes that take clinical research or biomedical experimentation as their paradigm cases. This is because of differences in the practices of ethnographic and biomedical research which we discuss. These include the extended periods of time ethnographers spend in the research setting, the emergent nature of ethnographic research focus and design, the nature and positioning of risk in ethnographic research, the power relationships between researchers and participants, and the public and semi-public nature of the settings normally studied. Anticipatory regulatory regimes are inimical to ethnographic research and risk undermining the contribution of systematic inquiry to understanding whether institutions do what they claim to do, fairly and civilly and with an appropriate mobilisation of resources. We do not suggest that we should simply ignore ethics or leave matters to the individual consciences of researchers. Rather, we need to develop and strengthen professional models of regulation which emphasise education, training and mutual accountability. We conclude the paper with a number of suggestions about how such professional models might be implemented.

Suggested Citation

  • Murphy, Elizabeth & Dingwall, Robert, 2007. "Informed consent, anticipatory regulation and ethnographic practice," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 65(11), pages 2223-2234, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:65:y:2007:i:11:p:2223-2234
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Morris, Norma & Bàlmer, Brian, 2006. "Volunteer human subjects' understandings of their participation in a biomedical research experiment," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 62(4), pages 998-1008, February.
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    Cited by:

    1. Melissa J. Bloomer & Maggie Doman & Ruth Endacott, 2013. "How the observed create ethical dilemmas for the observers: Experiences from studies conducted in clinical settings in the UK and Australia," Nursing & Health Sciences, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 15(4), pages 410-414, December.
    2. Natalie Pattison & Jude Mclellan & Lara Roskelly & Kirsty McLeod & Theresa Wiseman, 2018. "Managing clinical uncertainty: An ethnographic study of the impact of critical care outreach on end‐of‐life transitions in ward‐based critically ill patients with a life‐limiting illness," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(21-22), pages 3900-3912, November.
    3. Burgess, Michael M., 2007. "Proposing modesty for informed consent," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 65(11), pages 2284-2295, December.
    4. Kelli Innes & Doug Elliott & Virginia Plummer & Debra Jackson, 2018. "Emergency department waiting room nurses in practice: An observational study," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(7-8), pages 1402-1411, April.
    5. Mohajan, Haradhan, 2020. "Quantitative Research: A Successful Investigation in Natural and Social Sciences," MPRA Paper 105149, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 15 Nov 2020.
    6. Philippe Robert-Demontrond & Amélie Bellion, 2016. "L'éthique en ethnomarketing : de la juridictionnalisation des recherches à une morale incarnée," Post-Print hal-01865104, HAL.
    7. Janet Boddy, 2014. "Research across cultures, within countries: Hidden ethics tensions in research with children and families?," Progress in Development Studies, , vol. 14(1), pages 91-103, January.
    8. Swallow, Julia, 2017. "Expectant futures and an early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease: Knowing and its consequences," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 184(C), pages 57-64.
    9. Guta, Adrian & Nixon, Stephanie A. & Wilson, Michael G., 2013. "Resisting the seduction of “ethics creep”: Using Foucault to surface complexity and contradiction in research ethics review," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 301-310.
    10. Melissa J. Bloomer & Wendy Cross & Ruth Endacott & Margaret O'Connor & Cheryle Moss, 2012. "Qualitative observation in a clinical setting: Challenges at end of life," Nursing & Health Sciences, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 14(1), pages 25-31, March.
    11. Parker, Michael, 2007. "Ethnography/ethics," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 65(11), pages 2248-2259, December.
    12. Virginia Mapedzahama & Tinashe Dune, 2017. "A Clash of Paradigms? Ethnography and Ethics Approval," SAGE Open, , vol. 7(1), pages 21582440176, March.

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