มานุษยวิทยากับจริยธรรมการวิจัยในมนุษย์

Abstract

Abstract

Ethics, particularly human research ethics, is a crucial issue that has been widely discussed and seriously argued in an academia worldwide. As practitioners of a discipline in the social sciences that mainly employs an ethnographic research method in exploring socio-cultural phenomenon, anthropologists are expected and required to continually interact with their research participants in the field for a long period of time. Given the importance of this particular methodology, questions on ethical issues often arise in fieldwork; and it has resulted in movements, negotiations, and contestations regarding ethical standards and practices that began first in the West and later extended throughout the world. This article primarily deals with three main points: the relationship between anthropology and ethics, ethical codes and guidelines developed in anthropology, and considerations regarding research ethics in anthropology. Additionally, the article suggests that in an academic world critically influenced by audit culture, anthropologists must not only negotiate with people whom they study from a position as either “insider” or “outsider” but must also reconcile the epistemological stance of anthropology with institutionalized codes of ethics. Moreover, the article urges Thai anthropologists to acknowledge the significance of ethics, and proposes that research ethics committees, particularly those in the context of Thailand, be more flexible in their reviews of research protocols in anthropology. Ultimately, the paper calls for an establishment of a professional anthropological organization in Thailand, which could lead to a development of its own ethical guidelines.

Keywords: research ethics, human research ethics, code of ethics, ethical guidelines,  anthropology