Abstract
Unter Berücksichtigung globaler Machtverhältnisse in Bezug aufgesundheitliche Versorgung untersuchte ich im Rahmen einer medizinethnologischen Studie dieEinführung eines neuen – inzwischen global führenden – Antimalaria-Medikaments in Tansania.Dabei wurde ich mit menschlichem Leid, der Erfahrung der Sterblichkeit (Malaria) und Konfliktenauf eine Art und Weise konfrontiert, die ethische Fragen nach Verantwortung, Respekt und deneigenen Handlungsmöglichkeiten aufgeworfen hat. In diesem Artikel reflektiere ich meineFeldforschungserfahrungen im Hinblick auf ethische Positionierungen in einem Machtgeflecht, dasunterschiedliche Rollen und (eigene bzw. Fremd-) Erwartungen in einem sensiblen, teils vonMisstrauen geprägten Forschungsfeld beinhaltet. Vor diesem Hintergrund thematisiere ichforschungsethische Herausforderungen, Maßstäbe und Problemstellungen, die für qualitativForschende und insbesondere für die gegenwärtige (Medizin-) Ethnologie mit ihrer transkulturellenund transdisziplinären Problemstellung relevant sind. Der Fokus liegt zum einen auf Aspekten vonVertraulichkeit und Transparenz – Kernanliegen ethisch verantwortlichen Forschens – gegenüberInformantInnen und TeilnehmerInnen im Feld. Zum anderen greife ich die Frage auf, welchenEinfluss moralische (Selbst-) Zweifel bezüglich der eigenen Rolle als ForscherIn in besonderenMilieus (hier: Pharmaindustrie) auf die Datengewinnung und Analyse ausüben können.
Taking into account the impact of global power relations with regard to health care, I investigated, as part of a medical-anthropological study, the introduction of a new (now-world-leading) anti-malaria drug in Tanzania. In so doing, I was confronted with human suffering, the experience of mortality (malaria), and conflicts; and I was confronted in a way that raises ethical questions about responsibility, respect, and my own capacities for action. In this article, I reflect on my experiences during the field research with regard to my own ethical positioning in a network of power, which implies different roles, positioning, and (own or external) expectations in a sensitive field of research that may be marked by distrust. Against this background, I make thematic ethical research challenges, standards and problems that are relevant for qualitative research and, more generally, for (medical) anthropology with its transcultural and transdisciplinary problems. I focus, on the one hand, on aspects of confidentiality and transparency - a core element of ethically responsible research - toward informants and participants in the field. On the other hand, I address the question of the influence that doubts about one’s own role as a researcher working in particular environments (here, pharmaceutical industry) can exert on the data collection and the analysis.
Taking into account the impact of global power relations with regard to health care, I investigated, as part of a medical-anthropological study, the introduction of a new (now-world-leading) anti-malaria drug in Tanzania. In so doing, I was confronted with human suffering, the experience of mortality (malaria), and conflicts; and I was confronted in a way that raises ethical questions about responsibility, respect, and my own capacities for action. In this article, I reflect on my experiences during the field research with regard to my own ethical positioning in a network of power, which implies different roles, positioning, and (own or external) expectations in a sensitive field of research that may be marked by distrust. Against this background, I make thematic ethical research challenges, standards and problems that are relevant for qualitative research and, more generally, for (medical) anthropology with its transcultural and transdisciplinary problems. I focus, on the one hand, on aspects of confidentiality and transparency - a core element of ethically responsible research - toward informants and participants in the field. On the other hand, I address the question of the influence that doubts about one’s own role as a researcher working in particular environments (here, pharmaceutical industry) can exert on the data collection and the analysis.
| Translated title of the contribution | Research About the Pharmaceutical Industry: Ethical Positioning in a Powerful Network. |
|---|---|
| Original language | German |
| Journal | Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung = Forum Qualitative Social Research |
| Volume | 19 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Sept 2018 |