Ethical challenges of using video for qualitative research and ethnography: state of the art and prospective guidelines

Abstract

Marina Everri, Maxi Heitmayer, Paulius Yamin, and Saadi Lahlou continue the discussion on the uses of digital technology in ethnography. Their chapter focuses on video-ethnography and qualitative research designs based on video data and examines what kinds of ethical challenges are related to these designs and data. The authors’ core concern is the lack of solid ethical regulations and guidelines for using video data in ethnographic research. The chapter provides a systematic review of current research ethics guidelines for using video data, identifies critical issues and gaps related to researcher-researched rapport, informed consent, and participants’ rights in video-ethnography, and explores the parameters of ethical research design in such studies. Based on these explorations, the authors provide practical advice for an ‘ethical twist’ in video-ethnography by looking at the future of ethical regulations for qualitative research designs based on video data.