Towards a Feminist Research Ethics of Care: Reflections, Lessons, and Methodological Considerations for Doing Research During a Pandemic
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26522/ssj.v18i1.4056Keywords:
feminist research ethics of care, research methods, feminist research, social justice researchAbstract
Conducting feminist research during the global COVID-19 pandemic has evoked a renewed interest in the concept of care within our research team. The purpose of this paper is to provide concrete examples of how feminist ethics of care changed the initial and ongoing design of a community-engaged research project in Ontario, Canada. Drawing from examples and lessons learned, we focus on various adjustments to our methodological decision-making that intentionally honoured and prioritized our responsibilities to community partners, research participants, broader communities impacted by research, and the research team. By illustrating the methodological and ethical implications of these decisions, we argue that attending to these responsibilities prioritized both feminist research ethics and feminist ethics of care. As a result, we propose moving towards a conceptualization of a feminist research ethics of care, and discuss the value of this concept for researchers studying social justice.
References
Ackerly, B., & True, J. (2008). Reflexivity in practice: Power and ethics in feminist research on international relations. International Studies Review, 10(4), 693-707. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2486.2008.00826.x
Ackerly, B., & True, J. (2020). A feminist research ethic explained. In B. Ackerly & J. True (Eds.), Doing feminist research in political and social science (pp. 19-36). Macmillan Education.
Aranda, K. (2018). Feminist theories and concepts in healthcare: An introduction for qualitative research. Palgrave.
Bell, L. (2014). Ethics and feminist research. In S. N. Hesse-Biber (Ed.), Feminist research practice: A primer (2nd ed., pp. 73-106). Sage Publications.
Browne, K., & Nash, C. J. (2016). Queer methods and methodologies: Intersecting queer theories and social science research. Routledge.
Bubeck, D. (1995). Care, gender and justice. Oxford University Press.
Butler, A. (2019). Quiltmaking among African-American women as a pedagogy of care, empowerment and sisterhood. Gender & Education, 31(5), 590-603. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540253.2019.1594708
Caine, V., Chung, S., Steeves, P., & Clandinin, D. J. (2020). The necessity of a relational ethics alongside Noddings’ ethics of care in narrative inquiry. Qualitative Research, 20(3), 265-276. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468794119851336
Campbell, D. T., & Stanley, J. C. (1963). Experimental and quasi-experimental designs for research. Rand McNally & Company.
Caretta, M., Drozdzewski, D., Jokinen, J. C., & Falconer, E. (2018). “Who can play this game?” The lived experiences of doctoral candidates and early career women in the neoliberal university. Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 42(2), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1080/03098265.2018.1434762
Caretta, M., & Faria, C. (2020). Time and care in the ‘lab’ and the field: Slow mentoring and feminist research in geography. Geographical Review, 110(1-2), 172-182. https://doi.org/10.1111/gere.12369
Collins, P. H. (1990). Black feminist thought: Knowledge, consciousness and the politics of empowerment. Unwin Hyman.
Duffy, M. (2005). Reproducing labor inequalities: Challenges for feminists conceptualizing care at the intersections of gender, race and class. Gender & Society, 19(1), 66-82. https://doi.org/10.1177/0891243204269499
Folbre, N. (2002). The invisible heart: Economics and family values. The New Press.
Folbre, N. (2012). For love and money: Care provision in the United States. Russell Sage Foundation.
Ghidei, W., Montesanti, S., Tomkow, K., Silverstone, P. H., Wells, L., & Campbell, S. (2022). Examining the effectiveness, acceptability and feasibility of virtually delivered trauma-focused domestic violence and sexual violence interventions: A rapid evidence assessment. Trauma, Violence & Abuse, 24(3), 1427-1442. https://doi.org/10.1177/15248380211069059
Gillies, V., & Alldred, P. (2012). The ethics of intention: Research as a political tool. In T. Miller, M. Birch, M. Mauthner, & J. Jessop (Eds.), Ethics in qualitative research (2nd ed., pp. 43-60). Sage Publications.
Gilligan, C. (1982). In a different voice: Psychological theory and women’s development. Harvard University Press.
Green, J., & Thorogood, N. (2014). Qualitative methods for health research (3rd ed.). Sage Publications.
Grimshaw, J. (1991). The idea of a female ethic. In P. Singer (Ed.), A companion to ethics (pp. 491-499). Blackwell.
Harding, S. (1992). After the neutrality ideal: Science, politics and “strong objectivity.” Social Research, 59(3), 567-587.
Held, V. (2006). The ethics of care: Personal, political and global. Oxford University Press.
hooks, b. (2013). Writing beyond race: Living theory and practice (1st ed.). Routledge.
Jack, S. M., Munro‐Kramer, M. L., Williams, J. R., Schminkey, D., Tomlinson, E., Mayo‐Wilson, L., Bradbury‐Jones, C., & Campbell, J. C. (2021). Recognising and responding to intimate partner violence using telehealth: Practical guidance for nurses and midwives. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 30(3-4), 588-602. https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.15554
James, S. (1993). Mothering: A possible black feminist link to social transformation. In S. M. James & A. P. A. Busia (Eds.), Theorizing black feminisms: The visionary pragmatism of black women (pp. 45-56). Routledge.
Jenkins, K., Narayanaswamy, L., & Sweetman, C. (2019). Introduction: Feminist values in research. Gender & Development, 27(3), 415-425. https://doi.org/10.1080/13552074.2019.1682311
Keller, J., & Kittay, E. F. (2017). Feminist ethics of care. In A. Garry, S. J. Khader & A. Stone (Eds.), The Routledge companion to feminist philosophy (pp. 540-555). Routledge.
Kingston, A. K. (2020). Feminist research ethics. In R. Iphofen (Ed.), Handbook of research ethics and scientific integrity (pp. 531-549). Springer.
Kittay, E. (1999). Love’s labor: Essays on women, equality and dependency. Routledge.
Kourti, A., Stavridou, A., Panagouli, E., Psaltopoulou, T., Spiliopoulou, C., Tsolia, M., Sergentanis, T. N., & Tsitsika, A. (2021). Domestic violence during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review. Trauma, Violence & Abuse, 24(2), 719-745. https://doi.org/10.1177/15248380211038690
Letherby, G. (2003). Feminist research in theory and practice. Open University Press.
Loyd, J. M., Velednitsky, S., Diaz, I. I., Ibrahim, S., Giddings, C., Caldwell, K., Hawkins, R., Mountz, A., & Bonds, A. (2022). Dear feminist collective: How does one take up slow scholarship (in the midst of crises)? In S. A. Lovell, S. E. Coen & M. W. Rosenberg (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of methodologies in human geography (pp. 395-406). Routledge.
Maxwell, J. A. (2009). Designing a qualitative study. In L. Bickman & D. J. Rog (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of applied social research methods (2nd ed., pp. 214-253). Sage Publications. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781483348858
McDonald, K. B. (1997). Black activist mothering: A historical intersection of race, gender and class. Gender & Society, 11(6), 773–795. https://doi.org/10.1177/089124397011006004
Nash, J. C. (2018). Black feminism reimagined: After intersectionality. Duke University Press.
Neely, A. H., & Lopez, P. J. (2022). Toward healthier futures in post-pandemic times: Political ecology, racial capitalism and black feminist approaches to care. Geography Compass, 16(2), e12609. https://doi.org/10.1111/gec3.12609
Nielsen, K. (2021, May 10). A timeline of COVID-19 in Ontario. Global News. https://globalnews.ca/news/6859636/ontario-coronavirus-timeline/
Noddings, N. (1984). Caring: A feminine approach to ethics and moral education. University of California Press.
Ontario Ministry of Health. (2020, March 15). Ramping down elective surgeries and other non-emergent activities. https://www.corhealthontario.ca/CMOH-Memo-Elective-Surgery-(March-15,2020).pdf
Parr-Vasquez, C., & Newman, J. (2021). COVID-19 impacts on university research, past, present and future: A case study at Wilfrid Laurier University. Consensus, 42(2), 1-12.
Phipps, A. (2016). Whose personal is more political? Experience in contemporary feminist politics. Feminist Theory, 17(3), 303–321.https://doi.org/10.1177/1464700116663831
Piquero, A. R., Jennings, W. G., Jemison, E., Kaukinen, C., & Knaul, F. M. (2021). Domestic violence during the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from a systematic review and meta analysis. Journal of Criminal Justice, 74. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2021.101806
Pitt, R., & Mewburn, I. (2016). Academic superheroes? A critical analysis of academic job descriptions. Journal of Higher Education Policy & Management, 38(1), 88-101. https://doi.org/10.1080/1360080X.2015.1126896
Preissle, J. (2007). Feminist research ethics. In S. N. Hesse-Biber (Ed.), Handbook of feminist research: Theory and praxis (2nd ed.) (pp. 515-532). Sage Publications.
Preissle, J., & Han, Y. (2012). Feminist research ethics. In S. N. Hesse-Biber (Ed.), Handbook of feminist research: Theory and praxis (2nd ed.) (pp. 583-605). Sage Publications. https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781483384740.n28
Raghuram, P. (2019). Race and feminist care ethics: Intersectionality as method. Gender, Place & Culture: A Journal of Feminist Geography, 26(5), 613-637. https://doi.org/10.1080/0966369X.2019.1567471
Ratnam, C., & Drozdzewski, D. (2022). Research ethics with vulnerable groups: Ethics in practice and procedure. Gender, Place & Culture, 29(7), 1009-1030. https://doi.org/10.1080/0966369X.2021.1994932
Razack, S. H. (2022). Afterword: Researchers of good will. In T. Macías (Ed.), Unravelling research: The ethics and politics of research in the social sciences (pp. 211-220). Fernwood Publishing.
Ruddick, S. (1980). Maternal thinking. Feminist Studies, 6(2), 342-367. https://doi.org/10.2307/3177749
Ruddick, S. (1989). Maternal thinking: Towards a politics of peace. The Women’s Press.
Sevenhuijsen, S. (1998). Citizenship and the ethics of care: Feminist considerations on justice, morality and politics. Routledge.
Smith, L. T. (2012). Decolonizing methodologies: Research and Indigenous peoples (2nd ed.). Zed Books.
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. (2021, December 6). Partnership Engage Grants COVID-19 Special Initiative. https://www.sshrc-crsh.gc.ca/funding-financement/programs-programmes/peg-sep-covid-19-eng.aspx
Tronto, J. C. (1987). Beyond gender difference to a theory of care. Signs: Journal of Women in Culture & Society, 12(4), 644-663. https://doi.org/10.1086/494360
Tronto, J. C. (1993). Moral boundaries: A political argument for an ethic of care. Routledge.
Tronto, J. C. (2013). Caring democracy: Markets, equality and justice. University Press.
Tynan, L. (2021). What is relationality? Indigenous knowledges, practices and responsibilities with kin. Cultural Geographies, 28(4), 597-610.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Rachelle Miele, Jennifer Root, Rebecca Godderis, Sonia Meerai
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Articles are published in Studies in Social Justice under the Creative Commons "Attribution/Non-Commercial/No Derivative Works" Canada licence.
The copyright for the articles published in this journal is retained by the authors, with first publication rights granted to the journal. By virtue of their appearance in this open access journal, articles may be used, with proper attribution, in educational and other non-commercial settings. The submission of a manuscript to Studies in Social Justice will be taken to mean that the author understands and agrees to the following:
- the manuscript represents original work not previously published;
- the manuscript is not being considered elsewhere for publication in the same language (publication elsewhere in an alternate language does not preclude acceptance of submission to Studies in Social Justice);
- appropriate written copyright permissions have been secured for republication of any copyrighted material contained in the manuscript;
- copyright for this article is retained by the author, with first publication rights granted to Studies in Social Justice;
- by virtue of its appearance in this open access journal, it is understood that the article is freely available for use, with proper attribution, for educational and other non-commercial purposes;
- reuse of the article for commercial purposes by anyone other than the author requires permission of the author;
- the author agrees to cite Studies in Social Justice as a source whenever h/she later republishes or reuses the article in other platforms.
