Bangor Business School, Bangor University, Bangor, UK.
J Health Organ Manag. 2010;24(3):277-87. doi: 10.1108/14777261011054617.
The aims is to consider the political and ethical challenges involved in conducting ethnographic managerial/organisational behaviour research within the highly regulated health and social care context, in light of the emergence of more stringent "ethical approval" policies and requirements set by Local Research Ethics Committees in the United Kingdom. In the attempt and requirement to protect "vulnerable" employees, this paper aims to present an unintended paradox of consequences when participants voluntarily revealed themselves.
DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: The authors briefly review literature on research ethics and present an understanding of the ethical regulations currently existing within the British National Health Service. Within an ethnographic case study exploring the psychological contract, the authors consider the issues that arose during one stage of data collection: a qualitative questionnaire survey with 13 participants, including members of the lead author's team. Incorporating excerpts from the researcher's reflexive journal, the paper exposes the struggles of being an "insider" researcher and the tensions this raises for data analysis when participants voluntarily revealed themselves.
Ethnography is at "risk" within health and social care and ethnographic "managerial" research is likely to be unduly restricted and potentially threatened. The evidence suggests that some employees either did not wish to be protected or, conversely, felt compelled to reveal their identities, raising questions of their motivation and creating a paradox of unintended consequences.
ORIGINALITY/VALUE: This paper offers an insight into the challenges of conducting nurse-managerial ethnography in compliance with ethical guidelines, yet disrupted by participants. The findings will be useful to other nurse-researchers attempting to conduct insider research.
本研究旨在考虑在高度规范的医疗保健和社会护理背景下，进行民族志管理/组织行为研究所涉及的政治和伦理挑战。这是因为英国地方研究伦理委员会出台了更为严格的“伦理审查”政策和要求。为了保护“弱势群体”员工，本文旨在提出一个意想不到的悖论，即当参与者自愿披露自己的身份时，可能会产生意想不到的后果。
设计/方法/途径：作者简要回顾了研究伦理方面的文献，并介绍了英国国民保健制度中当前存在的伦理法规的理解。在一项探索心理契约的民族志案例研究中，作者考虑了数据收集过程中的一个阶段出现的问题：对包括主要作者团队成员在内的 13 名参与者进行了定性问卷调查。本文结合研究人员反思性日志的摘录，揭示了作为内部研究人员的挣扎，以及当参与者自愿披露自己的身份时，这对数据分析所带来的紧张局势。
民族志在医疗保健和社会护理领域面临风险，民族志“管理”研究可能会受到过度限制，并面临潜在威胁。证据表明，一些员工要么不想受到保护，要么相反，感到被迫披露自己的身份，这引发了他们的动机问题，并产生了意想不到的悖论。
原创性/价值：本文深入探讨了在遵守伦理准则的情况下，进行护士管理民族志研究所面临的挑战，但却受到参与者的干扰。这一发现对于其他试图进行内部研究的护士研究人员将是有用的。
