The normative background of empirical-ethical research: first steps towards a transparent and reasoned approach in the selection of an ethical theory

Salloch, Sabine; Wäscher, Sebastian; Vollmann, Jochen; Schildmann, Jan

doi:10.1186/s12910-015-0016-x

Cited by 24 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 37 publications

(42 reference statements)

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“…I believe that in the growing field of bioethics research, the methodological discussion should not detach from epistemological analysis. One of the fundamental challenges or epistemological anxieties in ethics debates revolves around the ethical principles or values 'taken for granted' within the studied context (Borry et al, 2004;Davies et al, 2015;De Vries and Gordijn, 2009;Ives, 2014;Ives and Dunn, 2010;Leget et al, 2009;Molewijk et al, 2004;O'Neill, 2009;Walker, 2007Johnstone, 2015Salloch et al, 2015). The critical CGT methodology employed in my study considers relativist epistemological stance and acknowledges the researcher's connectedness of experiences in theory constructions or moral arguments and helps critically examine the existing practices.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Practising reflexivity: Ethics, methodology and theory construction

Subramani

2019

Methodological Innovations

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Reflexivity as a concept and practice is widely recognized and acknowledged in qualitative social science research. In this article, through an account of the ‘reflexive moments’ I encountered during my doctoral research, which employed critical theory perspective and constructivist grounded theory methodology, I elaborate how ethics, methodology and theory construction are intertwined. Further, I dwell on the significance of reflexivity, particularly in qualitative research analysing bioethics concepts. Through an account of the universal ethical principles that ‘I’, as a researcher, encounter, and a micro-analysis of the observed relationships that influence the theoretical construction and arguments developed, I explore the quandaries an ethics researcher undertaking a reflexive approach faces. I elucidate that reflexivity unveils – for both researcher and reader – how the researcher(s) arrive(s) at certain positions during the knowledge construction process. I conclude by stating that reflexivity demystifies the moral and epistemological stances of both the study and researcher(s).

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Practising reflexivity: Ethics, methodology and theory construction

Subramani

2019

Methodological Innovations

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“…Akin to research that conceptualised time as a limited resource, everyday ethical tensions were often expressed in terms of ‘not having enough’ time. Yet, ethnographic attention to thick description, supported by a narrative-phenomenological conceptual framework, provided the level of detail needed to enter recent conversations in empirical ethics that seek to bridge the gap to normative arguments and recommendations 47–49…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A matter of time: grappling with everyday ethical tensions at the confluence between policy and practice in a psychiatric unit

Motta-Ochoa

Lencucha

et al. 2019

J Med Ethics

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ObjectiveTo provide insights on emergent ethical tensions experienced by mental health practitioners during system re-organisation, which is sufficiently grounded in empirical data at the local level to inform policy on recovery at institutional and provincial levels.MethodEthnographic methods using narrative and critical phenomenological resources over 24 months.FindingsEveryday ethical tensions emerged at the confluence of different experiences of time, for example, how a context of increasing pressure to decrease patients’ length of stay at the hospital (service-defined time) challenged efforts to listen to and advocate for what mattered to patients (personal time) and maintain the integrity of interventions (clinical time). In this context, practitioners drew on clinical language and that of personal recovery to strategically ‘push back’, ‘play with’ or ‘take back’ time.DiscussionExamining everyday practices through ethnographic methods can illuminate the everyday ethical tensions that arise when mental health professionals and psychiatrists grapple with, often competing, goods. Critical phenomenological resources can help expand the structural considerations in empirical ethics, excavate underground practices and raise questions about the conceptual categories undergirding normative ethics. Experiencing-with practitioners in clinical contexts as they encounter and creatively resolve ethical tensions also propose a normative ethics of possibility, to help bridge the gap between empirical and normative ethics.ConclusionFocus on the relationship between policy, temporal practices and ethics suggests a reconfiguration of time and re-imagination of ethics in institutional settings in ways that can ultimately benefit patients and professionals alike.

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“…Most of the ‘empirical researchers’ (80%) felt that empirical research in bioethics has value for normative analysis, further explaining why integration of the normative and the empirical seemed like a valuable endeavour [ 28 , 37 ]. However, more ‘empirical researchers’ intended to carry out normative-empirical integration (59.8%) than those who had done so (35.4%).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The use of empirical research in bioethics: a survey of researchers in twelve European countries

Wangmo

Provoost

2017

BMC Med Ethics

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BackgroundThe use of empirical research methods in bioethics has been increasing in the last decades. It has resulted in discussions about the ‘empirical turn of bioethics’ and raised questions related to the value of empirical work for this field, methodological questions about its quality and rigor, and how this integration of the normative and the empirical can be achieved. The aim of this paper is to describe the attitudes of bioethics researchers in this field towards the use of empirical research, and examine their actual conduct: whether they use empirical research methods (and if so, what methods), and whether (and how) they have made attempts at integrating the empirical and the normative.MethodsAn anonymous online survey was conducted to reach scholars working in bioethics/biomedical ethics/ethics institutes or centers in 12 European countries. A total of 225 bioethics researchers participated in the study. Of those, 200 questionnaires were fully completed, representing a response rate of 42.6%. The results were analysed using descriptive statistics.ResultsMost respondents (n = 175; 87.5%) indicated that they use or have used empirical methods in their work. A similar proportion of respondents (61.0% and 59.0%) reported having had at least some training in qualitative or quantitative methods, respectively. Among the ‘empirical researchers’, more than a fifth (22.9%) had not received any methodological training. It appears that only 6% or less of the ‘empirical researchers’ considered themselves experts in the methods (qualitative or quantitative) that they have used. Only 35% of the scholars who have used empirical methods reported having integrated empirical data with normative analysis, whereas for their current projects, 59.8% plan to do so.ConclusionsThere is a need to evaluate the current educational programs in bioethics and to implement rigorous training in empirical research methods to ensure that ‘empirical researchers’ have the necessary skills to conduct their empirical research in bioethics. Also imperative is clear guidance on the integration of the normative and the empirical so that researchers who plan to do so have necessary tools and competences to fulfil their goals.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12910-017-0239-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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The normative background of empirical-ethical research: first steps towards a transparent and reasoned approach in the selection of an ethical theory

Cited by 24 publications

References 37 publications

Practising reflexivity: Ethics, methodology and theory construction

Practising reflexivity: Ethics, methodology and theory construction

A matter of time: grappling with everyday ethical tensions at the confluence between policy and practice in a psychiatric unit

The use of empirical research in bioethics: a survey of researchers in twelve European countries

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