oa Informed consent in de etnografische veldwerkpraktijk

Informed consent in ethnographic research practice. Deep waters between macro ethical regulation and micro ethical fieldwork dilemmas

Drawing on my experiences of nine months of ethnographical fieldwork in an international matchmaking agency in Saint-Petersburg (Russia), I show how the negotiation of ‘informed consent’ in practice differs from ‘informed consent’ procedures of universities’ and research funds’ ethical review boards. Evidence in my case study contributes to existing debates that question the applicability in ethnography of consent rituals that are common in (bio)medical and psychological sciences. These ‘informed consent’ protocols have been criticized to be insufficiently empirically grounded in the ethnographical fieldwork practice. My tale from the field offers empirical evidence for a further conceptual refinement of a process-based approach to consent negotiations. I both provide recommendations for an adaptation of ethical regulations on a macro level and for a more reflexive consent negotiation in the situated ethnographic fieldwork practice.