How ethical challenges of covert observations can be met in practice

Abstract

This paper aims to bring into the ethical debate on covert research two aspects that are neglected to date: the perspective of the research subjects and the special responsibility of investigators towards their observers. Both aspects are falling behind, especially in quantitative social research. From a methodological point of view, quantitative forms of covert observation involve a great distance between the researcher and the research subjects. When human observers are involved, the focus is usually on the reliable application of the measuring instrument. Therefore, herein, a quantitative study is used as an example to show how the protection needs of both the observed persons and the observers can be met in practice. The study involved 40 student observers who covertly captured everyday conversations in real-world settings (e.g. in cafés or trains) by a highly standardised observation scheme. The study suggests that the anonymity of the research subjects and their trust in the observers are crucial for their subsequent consent. However, many participants showed only little or even no interest in the written information they were provided. Further, this study strongly emphasises how mentally stressful covert observations are to the observers. Almost all observers were worried in advance that the people they were observing would prematurely blow their cover and confront them. Role-playing and in-depth discussions in teams are good strategies to alleviate such and other fears and to prepare student assistants well for their demanding work in the field.

Ethical challenges in contemporary quantitative content analysis

“…Without such guidelines, "individual researchers are left to their own devices when it comes to acknowledging, facing, and dealing with ethical-methodological dilemmas" (Schlütz & Möhring, 2018, p. 48). These guidelines could be, for instance, informed by surveys or interviews among researchers who regularly conduct contemporary content analyses (e.g., Roehse, 2022) as well as (student) coders or research assistants (e.g., Podschuweit, 2021), but also representatives of institutional review boards. This way, the different experiences of those engaged in the process of conducting contentanalytic research, and those regularly debating ethical issues in media and communication studies could be integrated.…”

Becoming In/dependent: An Assemblage Analysis of Technical Design from Below

“…Doing covert observations in public spaces like a NAV reception area requires ethical consideration (Tjora, 2021). In our case we need to weigh the potential harm in relation to the people being studied, against the potential social benefits of making these observations (Petticrew et al, 2007;Podschuweit, 2021). As we see it, the potential for doing harm is considered low, as there is little likelihood that the people being observed can be identified.…”

Traditional Ngaben or Crematorium Ngaben?

“…The point of view of this research approach will also help in viewing and describing a finding. The findings obtained from the data interpretation process will assist in the process of identifying and evaluating what has been found (Nielsen et al, 2021;Podschuweit, 2021;Smith et al, 2021;Souza, 2022). So, this research approach provides an overview of respondents' responses in the form of percentages, then the results of these percentages are interpreted and explained.…”