Editorial

Abstract

Research is an essential component of social justice, social welfare, community work, social policy, and social work. However, engaging in research processes inevitably brings up ethical complexities and challenges. From questions of power and privilege to issues of responsibility and relationships, ethical concerns permeate all stages of research. As researchers, we are constantly confronted with dilemmas and controversies that require us to make moral and ethical choices. In this special issue of Ethics and Social Welfare, we aim to promote exchange and discussion on issues, challenges, and problems arising from the conducting of research in these fields. Our goal is to explore the ethical dimensions of research in social justice, social welfare, community work, social policy, and related areas and to highlight the experiences, practices, and strategies that can help researchers conduct their work in a responsible and morally defensible manner. The ethical lens in research, we believe, must extend beyond legalistic and codified understanding of research ethics to address the socio-political embeddedness of ethical principles, and explore how research can serve as a means of providing knowledge, improving social justice, realizing human rights, and mobilizing social equality and inclusion. Researchers are social actors; their choices, decisions and conduct contribute to the generation and legitimation of knowledges and to the reproduction and/or transformation of existing social relations. This special issue was initiated to provide a meeting place of cultures, practices, practitioners, and research communities. In many cultures, the ‘meeting place’ is a sacred space where people gather to share stories, connect with each other, and learn from one another. In the context of this special issue, we use the metaphor of the meeting place to explore the intersection of ethics and research in social justice, social welfare, community work, social policy, and social work. Conducting research in these fields means engaging with complex ethical issues that require careful consideration and reflection. As practitioners and academics, we have a responsibility to ensure that our research is conducted in a responsible and morally defensible manner, while also adhering to relevant ethical principles. This special issue of Ethics and Social Welfare provides a platform for researchers to come together, share their experiences and challenges, and exchange strategies for conducting research that is grounded in ethical principles and values. Through this ‘meeting place’, we hope to build a community of practice that is committed to advancing research that is socially just, inclusive, and transformative. This meeting point of practice, ethics, discussions, and reflection is about an assembly of equals. It is a place to observe, listen, reflect, and celebrate. In creating this space, we have joined a variety of voices in the hope that what is shared may be amplified or acknowledged. In application, this special issue brings together a variety of article types: original articles, ‘ethics in practice’ articles, book reviews, and an extended discussion and commentary of a book review by the authors. Like the meeting places of many peoples, each brings their own concept of need or significance, each brings away what is necessary or interesting.