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In:Field Research on Translation and Interpreting
Edited by Regina Rogl, Daniela Schlager and Hanna Risku
[Benjamins Translation Library 165] 2025
► pp. 179–198

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Chapter 8
Beyond ethical clearance in field research

In search of situated and reflexive ethics

ORCiD logo with link | University of Geneva | University of Antwerp
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Available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC) 4.0 license.

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Published online: 15 May 2025
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https://doi.org/10.1075/btl.165.08rio
Abstract
Research ethics has gained much attention in the social sciences and translation and interpreting studies. Researchers are expected to pay greater attention to ethical issues when researching human beings, which increasingly means obtaining authorisation from a research ethics committee. While this rise of ethics can be seen as positive, ethical clearance entails risks for field researchers because it is prospective, standardised, and based on a utilitarian approach. In this chapter, I argue for an approach to research ethics that is situated and reflexive, and improves something for the participants and context studied. Based on an interview study on revision in translation teams, the chapter addresses the topics of confidentiality in field research and involvement in interview studies.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Research ethics committees and qualitative research: A treacherous path
  • 3.Beyond the prospective and standardised approach: A plea for situated and reflexive research ethics
  • 4.Studying revision policies and translator-reviser relationships with an interview study
  • 5.The concept of situated and reflexive ethics applied to confidentiality
  • 6.Involvement of researcher and participants as a means of producing ethical interview research
  • 7.Conclusion: Risks of ethical regulation vs. promotion of ethical reflexion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
References (44)
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