The Ethics and Arguments surrounding Covert Research

Abstract

Covert research has long been a hotly debated ethical issue. Where ethical guidelines are considered, they are often found to be too strict to be applied to any kind of fieldwork. Though definite limits to the freedom of research can be set, such as the use of physical violence or the unintentional condoning of law breaking, covert research knows some more ambiguous problems that are not always agreed on. Ethical guidelines often deal with the issues of deception, the possible abuse of researcher's power and the violation of privacy. These are two important considerations regarding any kind of social research, but their application in ethical guidelines is often found to be too restricting for the fieldworker's situational encounters with myriad social settings, groups and contexts. Every type of research that might be characterized as 'covert' should therefore be carefully considered on a case-by-case basis in order to assure that it is properly conducted, using peer previews and reviews. This article examines the main issues regarding covert research, such as the problems of deception and violation of privacy, and discusses the possibility and utility of ethical guidelines.