The Moral Consequences of What We Construct through Qualitative Research.

This paper considers the issue of moral consequences of what researchers construct through qualitative research. The paper builds upon an academic married couple's respective and conjoint experiences and the ways in which they have reflected upon these in the light of contemporary theory, scholarship, and research. It addresses levels and domains of "we-ness" implied in the topic and foregrounds the context which they personally work day by day. The paper cites three conceptual principles which can serve as the basis of ethical human discourse in research: (1) That something would harm someone else is always a good reason not to do it; (2) A person always has the ethical obligation to try to explicate any social practice that there is reason to believe brings personal advantage or privileges his/her group over other people or other groups; and (3) The distinction between "use value" and "exchange value" is an especially important consideration for research activity under contemporary Australian conditions. The paper then discusses research participants, in process concerns, "back end" concerns, and research supervision. Noting that research always inhabits a larger context than the immediate research practice itself, the paper names some actual and potential deleterious moral consequences for researchers and their work present in the current Australian context. (Contains 49 references.) (NKA)