Ethical Issues in the Croatian Qualitative Social Work Research with People with Intellectual Disabilities

An increasing number of qualitative researches involving participants with intellectual disabilities have been carried out in Croatia during the last ten years. Various ethical decisions have arisen throughout the entire... [ view full abstract ]

An increasing number of qualitative researches involving participants with intellectual disabilities have been carried out in Croatia during the last ten years. Various ethical decisions have arisen throughout the entire qualitative research process, due to the fact that the researcher is involved with the personal life of the participants. Because of that the researchers feel responsible to both participants and society. One of the most important components of qualitative research, especially when semi-structured interview is used as the method of research, is informality of communication. When participants are people with intellectual disabilities, specific ethical dilemmas can arise when planning and carrying out qualitative research. One of them is that the participants with intellectual disabilities are also users of social welfare services. Because of that some specific ethical issues and dilemmas can arise. Based on the authors´ experience with the conducted qualitative researches, some of the key ethical issues and guidelines are going to be presented. The aim of the presentation is share knowledge and experience about recruitment strategy, informed and voluntary consent, confidentiality, anonymity of participants, participants´ right to make independent decisions during interview without fear, researcher-participant relationship, potential risks for people with intellectual disabilities taking part in qualitative research, and different ways of allowing participants´ voices to be heard through the results. The findings about ethical issues and guidelines are going to be interpreted in the context of the Croatian qualitative social work researches.

Key words: the Croatian qualitative social work research; participants with intellectual disabilities; ethical issues; guidelines