Ethics in Forced Migration Research: Taking Stock and Potential Ways Forward

Abstract

Migration research poses particular ethical challenges because of legal precarity, the criminalization and politicization of migration, and power asymmetries. This paper analyzes these challenges in relation to the ethical principles of voluntary, informed consent; protection of personal information; and minimizing harm. It shows how migration researchers — including those outside of academia — have attempted to address these ethical issues in their work, including through the recent adoption of a Code of Ethics by the International Association for the Study of Forced Migration (IASFM). However, gaps remain, particularly in relation to the intersection of procedural and relational ethics; specific ethical considerations of big data and macrocomparative analyses; localized meanings of ethics; and oversight of researchers collecting information outside of institutional ethics boards. The paper concludes with the following recommendations: Institutional Research Ethics Boards should familiarize themselves with the particular ethical challenges in migration research, as well as available resources, such as the IASFM Code of Ethics. Ethics boards should include researchers and community representatives who are familiar with migration in reviews of related projects. Academic and training programs in migration studies should include sessions and resources on migration-specific research ethics. Nonacademic organizations, including migrant-led organizations, should provide information resources and training to their staff and clients to ensure that they understand procedural ethics requirements, relational ethical principles, as well as the rights of those asked to participate in research. Organizations conducting their own research should establish ethics review processes and relational ethics norms. A leading migration studies center or institution should map existing ethical guidelines and processes in different countries and contexts to be better aware of overlap and gaps. This mapping should take the form of an open access, interactive database, so that information can be accessible and updated in real time. Researchers should engage in more dissemination of lessons learned on ethics in migration. While there is some emerging consensus on key ethical principles for migration research, it is in their application that researchers face dilemmas. Honest reflection and sharing of these experiences will help researchers to anticipate and manage similar dilemmas they encounter while undertaking research. Researchers at all stages of their careers should not undertake migration research without having first reviewed some of the literature on ethics and migration, which is partially cited in this paper. Research centers should facilitate dialogue on ethical issues in languages other than English, particularly languages most spoken by people in migration, and by people who are underrepresented in formal ethics processes and debates, especially those with direct experience of migration.

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“…Although procedural ethics are a valuable mechanism to hold researchers accountable in their work, they have not escaped academic critique. Critical studies scholars, particularly with persons experiencing refugee status, claim procedural ethics are Western-centric as they require consent through signed forms that are commonly written in technocratic language (Clark-Kazak, 2021), prioritize Western research methodologies (Mugumbate & Mtetwa, 2019), are primarily concerned with protecting researchers rather than understanding complex intercultural relationships between researchers and participants (Bilotta, 2021), and fail to account for situational ethics that arise during the research project (Guillemin & Gillam, 2004). Moreover, IRBs almost always exclude research participants and are instead composed of academics who are far removed from the research (Chynoweth & Martin, 2019), meaning that participants have no opportunity to review or approve the study before it is conducted on them.…”

“…Due to the constraints and limitations of procedural ethics, scholars are advocating for a broader implementation of relational ethics, also termed an ethics of care (Clark-Kazak, 2021). Relational ethics refer to recognizing value, respect, reciprocity, researcher reflexivity, and the deconstruction of a researcher's power and positionality within the research process (Bilotta, 2021;Chilisa et al, 2017).…”

“…While relational ethics are critical to culturally sensitive intercultural research practices with persons experiencing refugee status and, more generally, to applying key tenets of Ubuntu in research in the Global South, the research community still treats procedural ethics as the paramount guidelines to follow. As such, there is a clear and urgent need for social work researchers to integrate relational ethics into standardized (i.e., procedural) research ethical protocols (Clark-Kazak, 2021). However, despite the many philosophical alignments between Ubuntu and relational ethics, further inquiry is needed to ascertain how relational ethics are understood and conceptualized locally.…”

“…More specifically, little research has explored how social work researchers utilize Ubuntu in the context of academic neoliberalism (Hanesworth, 2017) and Western-influenced procedural research ethics. For instance, compulsory procedural ethics in research (e.g., informed consent, privacy and confidentiality, institutional ethical approval) (Clark-Kazak, 2021) are prioritized over relational ethics (e.g., respect, reflexivity, researcher positionality, and reciprocity) (Bilotta, 2020), as evidenced by Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) protocols. However, the central tenets of Ubuntu appear more aligned with relational than procedural research ethics.…”

“…However, the central tenets of Ubuntu appear more aligned with relational than procedural research ethics. Considering the lack of intersection between these two ethical approaches to research (Clark-Kazak, 2021), implementing Ubuntu in an authentic and genuine fashion may pose challenges for social work researchers across the globe.…”