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Qualitative Inquiry
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The Dark Side of Truth(s)

Ethical Dilemmas in Researching the Personal

M. Carolyn Clark

Texas A&M University

Barbara F. Sharf

Texas A&M University

This article explores the sometimes problematic issue of truth when conducting qualitative research on people's lives. Four ethical dilemmas are presented relating to the potentially harmful consequences of truth encountered by the authors in their own research: a promise to share the analysis of a patient's medical record containing unflattering comments by her physicians; the unintended sharing of a traumatic event, held secret since its occurrence, by a woman inmate; a disagreement with the Institutional Review Board over what constitutes ethical practice in online research; and an interview with a recently released political dissident in a totalitarian country. The authors advocate for multiple venues in which qualitative researchers can discuss ethical dilemmas such as these to learn from one another's experience and together develop a more reflexive practice.

Key Words: truth in research • ethical dilemmas • reflexive practice

Qualitative Inquiry, Vol. 13, No. 3, 399-416 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/1077800406297662
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