The principle of caveat emptor: Confidentiality and informed consent as endemic ethical dilemmas in focus group research [Book Review]

Journal of Bioethical Inquiry 6 (1):99-108 (2009)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

Informed consent and confidentiality supposedly minimize harm for research participants in all qualitative research methodologies, inclusive of one-on-one unstructured interviews and focus groups. This is not the case for the latter. Confidentiality and informed consent uniquely manifest themselves as endemic ethical dilemmas for focus group researchers. The principle of caveat emptor (let the buyer beware) may be a more useful tool for those involved in focus group research: that is, let the researcher, the participants and the ethics committee beware that the only ethical assurance that can be given to focus group participants is that there are few ethical assurances. These ethical dilemmas are not sufficiently realized in the literature, and if they are discussed, they are often dealt with within the focus group moderator’s preamble to the group discussion. This paper encourages the mandatory use of a participant information sheet sufficiently detailed to engender the participant’s active consent. Sufficient here means the participant must be made adequately aware of these endemic ethical dilemmas in advance, to allow them to consent to share responsibility for any ensuing harm. The focus group moderator is not their sole protector.

Links

PhilArchive



    Upload a copy of this work     Papers currently archived: 90,616

External links

Setup an account with your affiliations in order to access resources via your University's proxy server

Through your library

Similar books and articles

Biobanks--When is Re-consent Necessary?K. S. Steinsbekk & B. Solberg - 2011 - Public Health Ethics 4 (3):236-250.
Defining the Subject of Consent in DNA Research.Gordon R. Mitchell - 2001 - Journal of Medical Humanities 22 (1):41-53.
Knowing the Unknown and Informed Consent.A. T. Nuyen - 2007 - International Journal of Applied Philosophy 21 (2):213-223.
Informed consent: a primer for clinical practice.Deborah Bowman - 2012 - New York: Cambridge University Press. Edited by John Spicer & Rehana Iqbal.

Analytics

Added to PP
2009-01-28

Downloads
103 (#156,436)

6 months
7 (#175,814)

Historical graph of downloads
How can I increase my downloads?

References found in this work

Principles of biomedical ethics.Tom L. Beauchamp - 1979 - New York: Oxford University Press. Edited by James F. Childress.
Postmodern ethics.Zygmunt Bauman - 1993 - Cambridge, Mass.: Blackwell.

Add more references