“What Should I Do Now?”: Navigating Relational Ethics in Practice as an Early Career Researcher as Illustrated by a Qualitative Interview Study About Women’s Drinking Practices

Abstract

Qualitative interview studies on sensitive topics often draw on principles of feminist methodologies which focus on developing and maintaining non-exploitative, caring relationships with participants. For early career researchers, who may have less research experience, managing relational ethical issues that arise in research relationships can be difficult. Additionally, they could experience further pressures because of their junior roles and precarious employment. In the context of health research, early career researchers working on qualitative studies may experience specific challenges because of the predominance of the biomedical paradigm in this discipline. In this article, I explore some of the relational ethical issues I deliberated as an early career researcher when working in a medical faculty on a semi-structured qualitative interview study about women’s alcohol drinking practices. I focus on two overlapping themes from my experience of ethics in practice “Trying to building and maintain relationships” and “Trying to stabilize inequalities in research relationships.” With a primary focus on how I negotiated differing responsibilities, I draw on examples from the community-based face-to-face and virtual recruitment, the fast-paced face-to-face interviews, and the process of returning interview transcripts to women to review. With this analysis, I contribute to existing literature about ethics in practice for early career researchers by indicating the types of relational ethics that will need to be navigated and the resources needed to support them. These resources include having adequate time, opportunities for reflection, and good supervisory support. I also contribute to scholarship which critiques the wider health research context by considering the challenges it can pose for early career researchers when managing relational ethical spaces in qualitative interview studies. This article will be of relevance to novice researchers and those who supervise and manage them.