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Survey on Using Ethical Principles in Environmental Field Research with Place-Based Communities

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Abstract

Researchers of the Northeast Ethics Education Partnership (NEEP) at Brown University sought to improve an understanding of the ethical challenges of field researchers with place-based communities in environmental studies/sciences and environmental health by disseminating a questionnaire which requested information about their ethical approaches to these researched communities. NEEP faculty sought to gain actual field guidance to improve research ethics and cultural competence training for graduate students and faculty in environmental sciences/studies. Some aspects of the ethical challenges in field studies are not well-covered in the literature. More training and information resources are needed on the bioethical challenges in environmental field research relating to maximizing benefits/reducing risks to local inhabitants and ecosystems from research; appropriate and effective group consent and individual consent processes for many diverse communities in the United States and abroad; and justice considerations of ensuring fair benefits and protections against exploitation through community-based approaches, and cultural appropriateness and competence in researcher relationships.

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Notes

  1. Marine Spatial Planning is a more holistic approach to conducting ecosystem-based approaches to marine management. It offers an extensive list of principles at different spatial scales such as species and habitat diversity; economic, environmental and social dimensions, connectivity, uncertainty, vulnerability, and contextual measures and more.

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Funding

Funding was provided by National Science Foundation, Ethics Education in Science and Engineering (EESE) (Grant No. GEO-1338751).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Science and Technology Studies, Brown University, PO Box 1886, 150 Power St, Providence, RI, 02912, USA

    Dianne Quigley & Alana Levine

  2. State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF), 1 Forestry Dr., Syracuse, NY, 13210-2787, USA

    David A. Sonnenfeld

  3. Social Science Environmental Health Research Institute, Northeastern University, 360 Huntington Avenue, 318INV, Boston, MA, 02115, USA

    Phil Brown

  4. Science and Technology Studies, PO Box 1886, 150 Power St, Providence, RI, 02912, USA

    Qing Tian & Xiaofan Wei

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  1. Dianne Quigley
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  2. Alana Levine
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  3. David A. Sonnenfeld
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  5. Qing Tian
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Correspondence to Dianne Quigley.

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Quigley, D., Levine, A., Sonnenfeld, D.A. et al. Survey on Using Ethical Principles in Environmental Field Research with Place-Based Communities. Sci Eng Ethics 25, 477–517 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11948-017-9981-4

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