Ethical challenges for a community-based researcher: a case study from Bihar, India

Abstract

The case study is based on a first-person account of the experiences of a community researcher in India involved in community-based participatory development. It highlights the ethical stances taken by the community researcher during primary research that was carried out in remote villages in the state of Bihar among members of a denotified tribal community. It highlights her journey of reflecting on the research engagement, from an ethical perspective, after her engagement in an ethical review committee constituted by the Praxis Institute of Participatory Practices (herein, referred to as Praxis). The case study maps the journey of the researcher and the intrinsic and extrinsic motivations that led her to reflect on her ethical practices while carrying out community research. It also highlights the reflexivity of the researcher during her journey of the research process.