WHAT IS RESEARCH ETHICS?
Research ethics are the rules and good practices that make sure research is fair, respectful, and responsible. Having ethics embedded into your research processes helps:
- Protects people you survey or interview.
- Builds trust with your audience and collaborators.
- Ensures your data is accurate, safe, and used properly.
Example in practice: If you survey fans about their gig habits, explain how you’ll use the info (e.g. to plan shows), keep responses anonymous, and don’t share email addresses without permission.
CONSENT
Always ask permission before collecting information (e.g. surveys, interviews).
PRIVACY
Keep personal details confidential and secure.
RESPECT
Treat participants fairly, without bias or judgement.
TRANSPARENCY
Be clear about why you’re collecting data and how you’ll use it.
ACCURACY
Don’t twist or cherry-pick results and report honestly.
Informed consent means that before someone takes part in your research (like filling in a survey, interview, or focus group), they:
Know what the research is about – you’ve explained the purpose clearly.
Understand what’s expected of them – e.g. how long it will take, what questions they’ll be asked.
Are aware of risks and benefits – even if small, like sharing personal opinions.
Know how their data will be used and stored – whether it’s anonymous, confidential, or shared.
Agree freely to take part – no pressure, and they can change their mind at any time.
WHY ARE ETHICS IMPORTANT IN FEMINIST RESEARCH?
Feminist research places ethics at the centre of the entire process. It recognises the power dynamics between researcher and participant, prioritises care and consent and treats lived experience as knowledge rather than data to be extracted. Ethical practice in feminist music research requires reflexivity, transparency, and continual attention to the safety, agency and boundaries of our participants as we will often be very sensitively exploring situations where these women have not been afforded these principles. It also extends to how findings are shared, ensuring the work supports rather than harms the communities whose experiences it represents.
Foundational books on ethics in feminist research
Sandra Harding – Feminism and Methodology (1987)
A classic text outlining how feminist epistemology reshapes research ethics, objectivity, and positionality.Liz Stanley & Sue Wise – Breaking Out Again: Feminist Ontology and Epistemology (1993)
Strong focus on ethics as integral to feminist method, including reflexivity, accountability, and researcher–participant relationships.Shulamit Reinharz – Feminist Methods in Social Research (1992)
A comprehensive overview of feminist approaches with a substantive section on ethics, emotions, and non-extractive research practices.Ann Oakley – Experiments in Knowing: Gender and Method in the Social Sciences (2000)
Explores feminist critiques of conventional research ethics, particularly around interviewing, care, and reciprocity.Hazel Smith – Ethics in Qualitative Research: A Feminist Perspective (multiple editions; often with Patricia Sikes)
Explores ethical dilemmas in interviewing, confidentiality, consent, and research relationships from explicitly feminist viewpoints.Joan Acker & Margaret Andersen (eds.) – Doing Feminist Research (various editions)
Focuses on the practical and ethical challenges of conducting feminist research, including power, bias, and representation.Kimberly Crenshaw et al. – Intersectionality: Key Concepts (various editions featuring methodological chapters)
Not ethics-only, but includes essential discussions on the ethical responsibilities of researching marginalised communities.Denzin & Lincoln (eds.) – The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research (feminist methodology chapters)
Several chapters explicitly address feminist ethics, reflexivity, and participatory methods.Natasha Mauthner, Jacqui Gabb, and colleagues – writings on feminist ethics of care in qualitative research
Often collected in edited volumes; important for thinking about relational and emotional labour in interviewing.Patricia Hill Collins – Black Feminist Thought (2000)
While theoretical, it contains essential reflections on ethical knowledge production, voice, and accountability.
