Doing Ethical Research in an Industry Context

Despite a growing appreciation and use of qualitative research methods and ethnography in particular, the literature on construction research includes very little on the subject of research ethics. Based on our research experience and in conversation with the literature, this chapter provides advice on the key ethical questions faced by researchers in construction in doing qualitative research with industry partners. Issues canvassed include formulating an ethical research question, gaining access, ethics in fieldwork, staying safe on site, reporting of research results and special ethics considerations for students. The challenge for construction industry researchers is to ensure that they adopt an attitude of ethics-in-practice and do not fall back on a procedural ethics approach with the sole goal of achieving one-off administrative approval. Researchers need to adopt a reflexive approach that recognises ethics as something that must continually be negotiated between researchers and participants while also acknowledging the needs of industry partners.