Evidence from Researcher Interactions with Human Participants

American Political Science Association Organized Section for Qualitative and Multi-Method Research, Qualitative Transparency Deliberations, Working Group Final Reports, Report II.2 (December 2018)

27 Pages Posted: 15 Feb 2019

See all articles by Anastasia Shesterinina

Anastasia Shesterinina

University of Sheffield

Mark A. Pollack

Temple University - Department of Political Science; Temple University - James E. Beasley School of Law

Leonardo R. Arriola

UC Berkeley

Date Written: February 12, 2019

Abstract

This document is the report of Qualitative Transparency Deliberations (QTD) Working Group II.2 on Evidence from Researcher Interactions with Human Participants. We examine how transparency is understood by scholars who regularly engage with human subjects; assess the benefits and costs of transparency practices for evidence from research with human participants; and present practical recommendations for researchers, editors, reviewers, and funders. Our findings draw on contributions posted to the QTD online forum, offline consultations with scholars from across the discipline, and related published materials. We find broad support for the principle of transparency among scholars working with human research participants, but our consultations also make clear that the meaning of transparency should be understood as part of research integrity writ large. The scholars we consulted were nearly unanimous in emphasizing the importance of openness and explicitness – e.g., by specifying how information from human subjects research is collected and analyzed or interpreted – for the integrity of the research enterprise. Transparency requirements must be weighed against the ethical obligation to protect human subjects, the epistemological diversity within the discipline, and the workload imposed on researchers using qualitative data.

Keywords: qualitative methods, research transparency, human subjects, interviews, ethnography, Qualitative Transparency Deliberations

Suggested Citation

Shesterinina, Anastasia and Pollack, Mark A. and Arriola, Leonardo R., Evidence from Researcher Interactions with Human Participants (February 12, 2019). American Political Science Association Organized Section for Qualitative and Multi-Method Research, Qualitative Transparency Deliberations, Working Group Final Reports, Report II.2 (December 2018), Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3333392 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3333392

Anastasia Shesterinina (Contact Author)

University of Sheffield ( email )

17 Mappin Street
Sheffield, Sheffield S1 4DT
United Kingdom

Mark A. Pollack

Temple University - Department of Political Science ( email )

461 Gladfelter Hall
Philadelphia, PA 19122
United States

Temple University - James E. Beasley School of Law ( email )

1719 N. Broad Street
Philadelphia, PA 19122
United States

Leonardo R. Arriola

UC Berkeley ( email )

210 Barrows Hall
Berkeley, CA 94720
United States

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