Ethical Issues in Field-Based Criminological Research in Canada

Curtis Fogel

University of Calgary, Canada

Abstract:

In Canada, all research involving human subjects requires approval from a formal ethics review board before it can be conducted. Despite this, the body of literature relating to ethics in social science research is marginal, particularly in relation to research on crime and deviance. This paper contributes to this void in the literature by exploring the ethical issues presented by field-based criminological research. The issues examined include: eliciting sensitive information, coercive potentials, the consequences of knowing, conflicts of interest, and confidentiality and the possibility of subpoena. This paper argues that the current ethics review framework in Canada often acts in contradicting ways making it more difficult to conduct ethical criminological research.

Keyword:

Ethics; Research; Conflicts of interest; Confidentiality; Canada