In contemplating what is good research, there are many meaning s of the word ‘good’ to be addressed, and amongst them is the sense of “possessing or displaying moral virtue” (Oxford Dictionaries 2013). This immediately brings the concept of research ethics to the fore, and opens up considerations extending beyond the issues of ontology and epistemology critical for academic credibility.
That the research must be trustworthy and soundly argued is essential for ethical ‘goodness’ as well as for academic ‘goodness’. It would be unethical to release untrustworthy data or unsound conclusions, because decisions based on that research would be unsound and accordingly have negative consequences for society. Funding untrustworthy research would in itself imply the ethically-inappropriate squandering of funds entrusted to the researcher.
However, the research must also be conducted with regard to its impact on persons such as research participants (Myers 2011, pp.45-46) A series of protocols and practices have arisen to counterbalance the unequal power balance between researcher and research participant (Neuman 2011, p.144): these include voluntary informed consent; publication permission; data privacy; anonymity and confidentiality; ethical codes; and legal frameworks (Myers 2011, pp.48-51; Neuman 2011, pp.145-161). But with conflicting needs and interests in play , the application of these practices may not be easy (Marshall & Rossman 2011, pp.47-49), and sometimes the participants themselves may demonstrate little concern for their own interests (Neuman 2011, p.143) . Furthermore, the lives of the researchers themselves must also be balanced with other factors.
But is it enough for research to be trustworthy and conducted ethically. Is it sufficient to ‘do no harm’? Or should it achieve ‘good’ as well? Taken to the limit, this notion clearly leads in the direction of the critical genres of qualitative research, such as feminist research methods, critical ethnography, and action research (Marshall & Rossman 2011).
What is clear from this brief discussion is that the concept of ‘good’ as used herein extends beyond the academic context. It is tied to the impact of the research on the social context in which the researcher resides, where that social context includes research participants (both individual and organisational), funding bodies, and society as a whole
REFERENCES:
Marshall, C & Rossman, GB 2011, Designing Qualitative Research, 5th edn, Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA.
Myers, MD 2011, Qualitative Research in Business & Management, Sage, London, UK.
Neuman, WL 2011, Social Research Methods, 7th edn, Pearson, Boston, MA.
Oxford Dictionaries 2013, Oxford University Press, viewed 6 March 2013, http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/good
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