Dilemma-of-dilemmas: The position of conscience in research
Jennifer Parker
Faculty of Education, University of Southern Queensland, Australia
PP: 42 - 57
Abstract
Research has the potential of surfacing not only new and groundbreaking findings but also moral dilemmas that have been hidden deeply within the layers of the research process and even more deeply within the very fabric of the basic theorem from which the research is conceived.
As moral dilemmas surface, they have an even greater potential for challenging the individual conscience of the researcher to the degree of questioning moral obligations that sanction premises, even laws, that the researcher may discover that she or he holds as utterly wrong.
Such was the dilemma-of-dilemmas of one doctoral researcher when interpretations of her data appeared incongruous with accepted thought and threatened the original theoretics, epistemological position, ontological argument and axiological foundation of her research. In the process of coming to methodological crossroads, hidden realities embedded within the very fabric of everything that this researcher once sanctioned created a breakaway or drift from the popular views held by mainstream educational, medical and psychological associations. The stance of the epistemorph and other associated concepts are adapted by the researcher to describe her experience with research findings that contained discordant elements. Whilst facing possible marginalisation, the researcher takes up her right to ethical disagreement and chooses a reflexive role to bring out values held deeply within the research.
Keywords
research process, moral dilemma, ethical disagreement
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