Ethical Considerations

Every researcher needs to take heed of the ethical issues involved in any stage of the research process. According to Creswell (2003, p. 87), the main issue in any research is to protect the rights and interests of participants at all times. To ensure that this study complied with the appropriate ethical guidelines of the university (R. Scheyvens, Nowak, & Scheyvens, 2003), this study followed the Massey University’s Code of Ethical Conduct for Research, Teaching and Evaluations involving Human Participants requirements. Thus, prior to the fieldwork, an in-house ethics application was lodged with the Institute for Development Studies. This was followed by an internal discussion with supervisors and a neutral party from the department in which a few ethical issues were further clarified and highlighted for consideration. Following that, a low-risk application was submitted to the Massey University Human Ethics Committee for their consideration for which a low risk notification was granted for the researcher to undertake the fieldwork in the Solomon Islands with government officials.

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I took great care during the entire research process to ensure that participant were fully made aware of their rights and that each participant’s written informed consent was sought before any interview was conducted. At the outset, participants were made fully aware of the purpose and objectives underlying the research, the type of information required from them, and why the information was being sought. The researcher then presented and briefed the participants on the consent form and gets their consent before carrying out the actual interview. After the interview, participants were asked again whether they are still willing for the researcher to use information obtained for the research. All respondents, except for four, completed the consent form and those who refused to sign the consent form (because they consider it as insignificant) gave their oral consent. All participants were told that their consent was totally voluntary, their identities and responses would be kept confidential, and that should they feel threatened or uncomfortable, it is their right to withdraw from the interview at any time without any consequences. Most respondents were uncomfortable with the use of the voice recorder; hence the majority of the interviews were manually transcribed by the researcher.

Being a local person and a female, I was very conscious of cultural and gender issues when undertaking the fieldwork and had to act accordingly when dealing with various informants involved in the research. For example, appropriate and culturally accepted dressing tells a lot about the researcher and how she is perceived by the participants. Additionally, knowing when to talk in the Solomon Islands culture is extremely important. A long silence or pause does not necessarily mean that the participant is finished or has nothing to contribute and interrupting a conversation is considered very disrespectful. At all cost, the researcher had to gain the respect of all participants and as to not do so would be detrimental to the success of the entire fieldwork and data collection process.

Another ethical issue that emerged in the fieldwork was related to the potential harm the researcher could cause to the participants. With this research the risk of harm was considered minimal. However, the necessary measures were always taken to prevent participants from any risks. Furthermore, as suggested by Scheyvens et al., (2003, p. 155) any research findings have the potential to benefit or inform other people and organisations and could lead to future changes. While the findings of this research has the potential to influence policy and decision making concerning the issue being researched, it was clearly explained to participants that the study has

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no linkages to the current Government and that it may not immediately strengthen the relationship between national and provincial governments.

Due to my previous role in working for various donor organisations within the country, I began each interview by clarifying that I was no longer an employee or representative of UNDP and that I was strictly undertaking this research in my capacity as a student of Massey University. This was critical in avoiding any misconception that this research would result in some sort of donor assistance or would directly contribute to the Provincial Governance Strengthening Programme16_.

Furthermore, by disclosing my position, I hopefully minimised any preconceived perception by participants regarding my position in this study. I, therefore, explained to all participants that this research was mainly to fulfil the requirements of a master’s thesis in Development Studies at Massey University.

In terms of the credibility of the research process, a qualitative research calls into play the need for the researcher to critically reflect on positionality as mentioned earlier in this chapter, as this may influence certain aspects of the study. While the researcher had declared any potential for conflict of interest or biases, it was impossible to be totally neutral and detach oneself from the findings and knowledge emanating from the study. This realisation supports the findings that there is no independent position from which a person can fully and freely observe the world. This self-reflection helps in identifying with the participants instead of being removed from them.