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The Politics of Ethics in Rural Social Research: A Cautionary Tale

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Ruraling Education Research

Abstract

An ethical approach to rural research is one that recognises the effects of geography and location on the design, funding, implementation, and reporting of research. Human research that claims to address rural issues must be alert to the problems that generalised ethical frameworks produce for ethical practice in rural areas. As researchers, we cannot silence complexity or flatten out differences between places and the people who live in them; therefore, we must seek to acknowledge the qualitatively different social spaces that are broadly classified as ‘rural’. Drawing on examples from two large-scale educational research studies, this chapter highlights the range of ethical considerations that impact on the design and implementation of research in sites that are marginalised from metro-normative assumptions about research practice. In this way, it argues that institutional frameworks are currently ill-equipped to deal with the specificities of place and space.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    These are, first, the TERRAnova study, Teacher Education for Rural and Regional Australia (Reid et al., 2015), and second the Indigenous Child Care Choices project (Bowes et al., 2011). These are referred to here as TERRAnova and ICCC, respectively.

  2. 2.

    The TERRAnova case study of Lightning Ridge (Reid et al., 2012a), for instance, describes how a principal with a clear understanding of the effects of long-distance driving on the vehicles of beginning teachers, had used literacy funding to purchase a school car that could be used to transport staff to professional development activities.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Charles Sturt University, Bathurst, NSW, Australia

    Jo-Anne Reid

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  1. Jo-Anne Reid
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Correspondence to Jo-Anne Reid .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Canberra, Moss Vale, NSW, Australia

    Philip Roberts

  2. Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Melyssa Fuqua

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Reid, JA. (2021). The Politics of Ethics in Rural Social Research: A Cautionary Tale. In: Roberts, P., Fuqua, M. (eds) Ruraling Education Research. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-0131-6_17

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-0131-6_17

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  • Online ISBN: 978-981-16-0131-6

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