Journal Article
The Ethics of Covert Methods
Roger Homan
The British Journal of Sociology
Vol. 31, No. 1 (Mar., 1980), pp. 46-59
Published
by: Wiley on behalf of The London School of Economics and Political Science
DOI: 10.2307/590062
https://www.jstor.org/stable/590062
Page Count: 14
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Topics: Participant observation, Pentecost, Social research, Prayer, Field research, Social ethics, Communities, Ethical behavior
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Abstract
This paper concerns ethical issues raised by a covert research enquiry conducted in a community of primitive sectarians described as 'old time pentecostals'. Covert methods - interviewing and fully participant observation - were chosen on pragmatic grounds and in view of the subjects' marked rejection of 'the world' in general and of sociology in particular. Two types of ethical problem are considered: matters of individual morality and those of professional ethics. Covert research is a pragmatic expedient, ideally nonreactive and giving access to secret transactions: but it is also justifiable in view of the right of subjects to be free from disturbance and inhibition. It is argued that covert methods are in certain cases favourable to and in the interests of subjects but potentially detrimental to the personality of the fieldworker, in whom certain traits may persist even after he has left the field.
The British Journal of Sociology © 1980 London School of Economics