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Essay on The Moral and Ethical Dilemmas of Anthropology

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Anthropological researchers have considerable moral and ethical standards by which their work must be conducted in order to preserve the accuracy and the posterity of the information gathered during the study and also to the persons or cultures of which they study. These two important parts of anthropology – the research and those being researched – can be conflicting. The Code of Ethics of the American Anthropological Association presents itself as a body of guidelines for discussing these ethical and moral conflicts. This allows for researchers in the field of anthropology to have a foundation for understanding what decisions must be made regarding these ethical and moral conflicts and to whom the disclosures of those decisions …show more content…

The researcher must also be forward and honest with the participants that despite the due diligence put forth by the researcher, the information gained and shared through the study may lead to the unintentional disclosure of some of the participants’ personal information. Ensuring that this is shared with the participant allows a partnership to form between the researcher and those who are part of the research. The case of anthropologist Becky Ross as documented by Elizabeth Colson of the University of California, details the ethical dilemma reached when the projected status of the researcher crosses from field research into a daily contributor to the study group. Colson suggests that by creating these relationships, researchers are “creating obligations and they ought to learn what these may entail.” (Colson, 2006)

Partnerships, or relationships, are another aspect of social research that must be negotiated with an ethical and moral perspective. Anthropologists have more than just the responsibility to report their studies and results with accuracy but must also complete their research with propriety of moral respect for those being studied, sometimes more than for the study itself. “In conducting and publishing their research, or otherwise disseminating their research results, anthropological

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