Abstract:

This paper explores ethical aspects of field work in the area of tertiary education and is based on data collected as part of a larger study focused on attitudes towards language and the role of language in the formation of identity among Latina students in Los Angeles, California, United States.

Mixed methods with a special focus on qualitative methodologies of research were employed to examine attitudes and preferences towards language use and the impact on identity formation among 72 Latina students. In particular, five students were selected and monitored irregularly for nearly seven years. The longitude of the study provided fruitful data that added a very important dimension to the research of the subject, reflecting not only the myriad of identities assumed by one person developed over time, but also raising important ethical issues of the research as such. Therefore, ethical aspects of field work in educational research create the central focus of this paper.

Denzin & Lincoln (2005) stress the socially constructed nature of reality and intimate relationship between a researcher and the phenomena studied. In the paper presented, concrete examples of ethical dilemmas that appeared throughout the course of extensive field work are discussed as well as decisions taken in concordance with “Empowering research” as defined by Cameron et al. (1992) and a Dialogical approach as promoted by Paulo Freire (1970). According to the author of this paper, both approaches create very useful platforms for researchers to represent the voices of subjects of their research while being conscious of the relationships of power and empowerment paramount to ethical inquiry and the very concept of research itself.

Keywords:

Ethics in Research, Empowering Research, Paulo Freire, Identity Formation, Qualitative Methodologies.