Ethical Issues in Qualitative Data Collection Among Vulnerable Populations in Healthcare Setting

Unfolding The Ethical Issues In Various Stages Of The Data Collection Process

In qualitative data collection, incidences that present an ethical dilemma occur when there is tension between the benefits to researchers (the need for data) and benefits to participants (the need to have confidentiality preserved and fulfill participants’ own agenda). Setting rules and guidelines in relation to ethical issues in qualitative data collection can be a challenging task because of unanticipated incidences in the data collection. The planning for recruitment of participants and the venue are often tentative. The researchers may need to collect further information, either from the same participants, or from new participants. During the IDIs and FGDs, researchers may also need to deal with unanticipated stories revealed by participants. They may also encounter issues that are unrelated to the topic of the study, for instance, participants taking the opportunity to fulfil their own agenda from the interviews (Clarke, 2006). Thus, each of these stages of the data collection process can present an ethical dilemma.