Abstract
As a discipline, sociology has had to confront criticism of the nature and ends of sociological research and ethnical dilemmas in the study of social problems and people. Over time guidelines have appeared to aid in protecting subjects and colleagues (e.g., the ASA Code of Ethics) and to guarantee research standards (e.g., the peer-reviewed proposal process, human subjects committees). However, guidelines tend not to address the challenges sociologists face in international research. This results in unpleasant experiences and potentially endangers research and researcher alike. This articles responds to the gap in the literature on ethical issues in international research. It draws on writings by social scientists and from the author’s experience in Latin America.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adamek, Raymond J. and Grace M. Marvin. 1986. “Ethical and Policy Implications of Applied Sociologists’ Work,”Journal of Applied Sociology 3(1):67–71.
Albornoz, Orlando. 1962.La Sociología en Venezuela. Caracas: Editorial Arte.
American Sociological Association. 1989. “Code of Ethics.” August 14.
Arndt, H. W. 1987.Economic Development: The History of an Idea. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Asad, Talal, ed. 1973.Anthropology and the Colonial Encounter. Atlantic Highlands, NJ: Humanities Press.
Barroso, Manuel. 1991.Autoestima del Venezolano: Democracia o marginalidad? Caracas: Editorial Galac.
Becker, H. 1967. “Whose Side Are We On?”Social Problems 14:239–47.
Berk, Richard A. 1981. “On the Compatibility of Applied and Basic Sociological Research: An Effort in Marriage Counseling,”The American Sociologist 16:204–211.
Blumberg, Rae Lesser. 1989.Making the Case for the Gender Variable: Women and the Wealth and Well-being of Nations. Washington, D.C.: Agency for International Development.
Brown, Richard Harvey. 1993. “Cultural Representation and Ideological Domination.”Social Forces 17(3):657–676.
Calderón, Fernando and Alejandro Piscitelli. 1990. “Paradigm Crisis and Social Movements: A Latin American Perspective.” Pp. 81–95 inComparative Methodology: Theory and Practice in International Social Research, edited by Else Oyen. London: Sage Publications.
Calhoun, Craig, Edward LiPuma and Moishe Postone, eds. 1993.Bourdieu: Critical Perspectives. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Cardoso, Fernando Henrique. 1987. “Problems of Social Change, Again?”International Sociology 2(2):177–187.
Castro, Gregorio Antonio. 1988.Sociólogos y Sociología en Venezuela. Caracas: Unesco.
Cernea, Michael M. 1985. “Sociological Knowledge for Development Projects.” Pp. 3–22 inPutting People First: Sociological Variables in Rural Development, edited by M. M. Cernea. New York: Oxford University Press.
Chambers, Robert. 1983.Rural Development: Putting the Last First. London: Longman.
Chambers, Robert. 1987. “Normal Professionalism, New Paradigms, and Development,”Agriculture and Rural Problems.
Collins, Randall. 1986. “Sociology as the Land of Oz,”California Sociologist 9(1–2):33–60.
Derman, William and Scott Whiteford. 1983. “Introduction.” Pp. 1–15 inSocial Impact Analysis and Development Planning in the Third World, edited by W. Derman and S. Whiteford. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
Devereaux, Stephen and John Hoddinott. 1992.Fieldwork in Developing Countries. Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers.
Edwards, Michael. 1989. “The Irrelevance of Development Studies,”Third World Quarterly 11(1):116–135.
Escobar, Arturo and Sonia Alvarez, eds. 1992.The Making of Social Movements in Latin America. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
Finsterbusch, Kurt and William L. Partridge. 1990. “The Development Anthropology Approach.” Pp. 55–68 inMethods for Social Analysis in Developing Countries, edited by K. Finsterbusch, J. Ingersoll, and L. Llewellyn. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
Fortuijn, Emiel Droogleever. 1984. “The Failure of Ethics in Practice: Cultural and Institutional Barriers of a Research Project in Venezuela,”IDS Bulletin 15(4):59–69.
Gans, Herbert. 1989. “Sociology in America: The Discipline and the Public,”American Sociological Review 54:1–16.
García (-Guadilla), María Pilar. 1981a. “La defensa del espacio científico y el neocolonialismo en la investigación urbana del Tercer Mundo,”Argos (social science and humanities journal of the Simón Bolívar University, Venezuela) 1(3).
García (-Guadilla), María Pilar. 1981b. “Una experiencia neocolonialista en la investigación urbana sobre el Tercer Mundo: El caso de Toulouse, Francia,”Argos (social science and humanities journal of the Simón Bolívar University, Venezuela) 1(1).
García-Guadilla, María Pilar. 1992. “The Venezuelan Ecology Movement: Symbolic Effectiveness, Social Practices, and Political Strategies.” Pp. 150–170 inThe Making of Social Movements in Latin America: Identity, Strategy, and Democracy, edited by A. Escobar and S. Alvarez. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
Gareau, Frederick H. 1986. “The Third World Revolt Against First World Social Science,”International Journal of Comparative Sociology 17(3–4):172–189.
Geertz, Clifford. 1993.Local Knowledge. New York: Basic Books.
Gilligan, Carol. 1982.In a Different Voice: Psychological Theory and Women’s Development. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Goulet, Denis. 1983. “Obstacles to World Development: An Ethical Reflection,”World Development 11(7):609–624.
Goulet, Denis. 1989. “Participation in Development: New Avenues,”World Development 17(2):165–178.
Kimmerling, Baruch. 1992. “Sociology, Ideology, and Nation-Building: The Palestinians and their Meaning in Israeli Sociology,”American Sociological Review 57: 446–460
Klarén, Peter F. 1986. “Lost Promise: Explaining Latin American Underdevelopment.” Pp. 3–31 inPromise of Development: Theories of Change in Latin America, edited by P. F. Klarén and T. J. Bossert. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
Korten, David C., ed. 1984.People-Centered Development. West Hartford: Kumarian Press.
Laue, James H. 1978. “Advocacy and Sociology.” Pp. 167–199 inSocial Scientists as Advocates: Views from the Applied Disciplines, edited by G.H. Weber and G. J. McCall. Beverly Hills: Sage Publications.
Long, Norman. 1990. “From Paradigm Lost to Paradigm Regained? The Case for an Actor-Oriented Sociology of Development,”European Review of Latin American and Caribbean Studies 49:3–23.
Mohamed, Abdul R. Jan and David Lloyd, eds. 1990.The Nature and Conquest of Minority Discourse. London: Oxford University Press.
Montero, Maritza. 1984.Ideología, Alienación e Identidad Nacional. Caracas: Colección Ciencias Económicas UCV.
Moser, Caroline O.N. 1989. “Gender Planning in the Third World: Meeting Practical and Strategic Gender Needs,”World Development 17(11):1799–1825.
Mueller, Adele. 1987. “Peasants and Professionals: The Production of Knowledge about Women in the Third World.” Paper presented at the meeting of the Association for Women in Development, Washington, D.C., April 15–17.
Naím, Moisés and Ramón Piñango, eds. 1985.El Caso Venezuela, Una Ilusión de Armonía. Caracas: Ediciones IESA.
Nielsen, Joyce McCarl. 1990. “Introduction.” Pp. 1–40 inFeminist Research Methods: Exemplary Readings in the Social Sciences, edited by J. McC. Nielsen. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
Partridge, William L. and Dennis M. Warren. 1984. “Introduction: Development Anthropology and the Life Cycle of Development Projects.” Pp. 1–8 inTraining Manual in Development Anthropology, edited by W. L. Partridge and D. M. Warren. Washington, D.C.: American Anthropological Association.
Peattie, Lisa R. 1981.Thinking About Development. New York: Plenum.
Portes, Alejando. 1977. “On the Sociology of National Development: Theories and Issues.” Pp. 188–227 inThird World Urbanization, edited by J. Abu-Lughod and R. Hays., Chicago: Maroufa Press.
Preston, P. W. 1982.Theories of Development. London: Routledge Kegan Paul.
Rakowski, Cathy A. 1985. “The Planning Process and the Division of Labor in a New Industrial City: The Case of Ciudad Guayana, Venezuela.” Pp. 195–223 inCapital and Labour in the Urbanized World, edited by J. Walton. London: Sage Publications.
Rakowski, Cathy A. 1989. “Evaluating Development: Theory, Ideology, and Planning in Ciudad Guayana, Venezuela,”International Journal of Contemporary Sociology 26(1–2):71–92.
Rakowski, Cathy A. 1991. “Gender, Family, and Economy in a Planned, Industrial City: The Working- and Lower-Class Households of Ciudad Guayana.” Pp. 149–172 inGender, Family, and Economy: The Triple Overlap, edited by R. L. Blumberg. Bewbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.
Reinharz, Shulamit. 1992.Feminist Methods in Social Research. New York: Oxford University Press.
Schwartz, Norman B. and Kenneth W. Eckhardt. 1985. “International Development Projects, Communities and Social Impact: Some Critical Notes.” Pp. 77–96 inSocial Impact Analysis and Development Planning in the Third World, edited by W. Derman and S. Whiteford. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
Sjoberg, Gideon. 1967. “Project Camelot: Selected Reactions and Personal Reflections.” Pp. 141–161 inEthics, Politics, and Social Research, edited by G. Sjoberg., Cambridge: Schenkman Publishing.
Slater, David. 1990. “Fading Paradigms and New Agendas—Crisis and Controversy in Development Studies,”European Review of Latin American and Caribbean Studies 49:25–32.
So, Alvin Y. 1990.Social Change and Development: Modernization, Dependency, and World-System Theories. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.
Sorbo, Gunnar M. 1988. “Has the World Bank Abandoned its Focus on Poverty Alleviation?” Excerpts from a speech from the World Bank Symposium, Oslo, March.IDA Development Anthropology Network Bulletin 6(2).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Rakowski, C.A. The ugly scholar: Neocolonialism and ethical issues in international research. Am Soc 24, 69–86 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02691920
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02691920