Ethics of access in contemporary applied linguistics projects

Abstract

Increasingly, contemporary research practice is taking place in complex, multi-agency projects with funding from various public agencies and high demands for social relevance. The researcher–practitioner relationship, especially between researchers and stakeholders, plays a vital role in these kinds of projects, representing new challenges for many researchers. Within this field, issues relating to research ethics gain importance beyond established guidelines and institutional regulations. The aim of this paper is to contribute to a methodological debate on research ethics, highlighting the complex communicative practices that constitute the micro-ethics of the early stages of research, in which access to research sites and empirical data is at stake. We discuss three such activities in a project studying professional practice in welfare: (1) joint problematization of key issues; (2) negotiation of the research topic with multiple stakeholders; and (3) collaborative response to emerging ethical dilemmas. By opening up the often-neglected micro-ethical practices of research, we discuss how reflexivity and critical engagement might support the researcher’s ethical practices in complex project surroundings. By fostering increased awareness of ethically important moments in the early stages of the research process, researchers might be better prepared to negotiate the many communicative events that form an integral part of the practices of research ethics.