Journal #22: Ethics

We have been talking about ethics a lot lately and I feel like I am on IRB (institutional review board) overdrive. I have already completed my IRB for my project because I did it in my Ethnographic Skills class for anthropology last semester and while I still need to do some fine tuning I feel like I have a pretty good grasp on the purpose of it. Yes, it takes a very long time to do it well and I felt like Robin in the cartoon about sometimes until I just manned up and completed it. Really thinking about the particular questions made me identify the purpose of my project beyond the scope of just my statement of intent and such. It helps to identify those people that will actually be affected by it and what I think the benefits of doing this research will be. There is of course information I do not have and won't find out until I get into the field but for the most part I feel very good about my project.

Ethics is a very broad yet sensitive topic. It is interesting because I am not really sure who draws the line and how it varies from one person to the next and from one country to the next. Talking about all the different scenarios and discussing what we think we would do in that situation is very thought provoking because it is easy to say what we think we would do but who knows what we would actually do in that situation. The mood of the situation, the relationship between the people I am interacting with and myself, the particular issue being dealt with at the time, the way I feel at that day and in that moment, can all affect the outcome of the situation and I do not know if there is a hard line that can define "right" and "wrong" in ethical dilemmas. There are certainly extremes and most human beings would agree on what is acceptable in those cases but what about all the in between...who gets to decide what the RIGHT thing is for me to decide. It is a very interesting way to think about ethics and what exactly I will be doing in my project. I beg to ask the questions, will I be imposing any harm on the people I observe and interact with? I don't think so but what if some un-forseen circumstance catches me off guard and I am not so sure how to react... what will that circumstance be like. How will my actions manifest the values and standards that I know to be true to my character while honoring and respecting relationships Im building? All I can do is pray every day to be able to interpret those situations and be aware of my surroundings and the situation because I am confident that if I can do that then I will do just great!