This paper presents an integrated discussion of methods and ethics by drawing on participatory research with children in Ethiopia and Kenya. It examines the complex social, ethical, practical and methodological dilemmas of research with HIV-affected children, and explores how we confronted some of these dilemmas before, during and after fieldwork. The paper interrogates the role and limitations of ‘global’ ethical standards in childhood research, and the ways in which the researchers’ gender, ethnicity/race, material power, knowledge and insider-outsider position all intersect (...) to affect: (a) the level of children's involvement in the research process; (b) the generation of knowledge about the field; and (c) the negotiation of ethics in collaborative ways. We argue that doing ethical research with HIV-affected children should not be based solely on dominant and de-contextualised understandings of ethics, knowledge and social relations, but should be negotiated reflexively and through dialogue with participants, including the children, their guardians and ‘local’ community members—all with the aim of doing good and avoiding harm in the research process. (shrink)

The twin concepts of ethics and emotions are used in this paper to examine experiences of doing research on the topic of violence. Ethical questions are of significance when carrying out research which is potentially distressing to the research participant. Through field experiences in South Africa the author argues, however, that despite the growing concern among geographers over the ethical dimensions of their work, the implementation of ethically guided research practice is often less simple in reality. The concept of emotions (...) is used to explore the less well examined issue of the impact of distressing research on the researcher and research assistants. The paper concludes that it is often difficult to separate out ethics from emotions. (shrink)

MAPEDZAHAMA V, RUDGE T, WEST S and PERRON A. Nursing Inquiry 2012; 19: 153–164 [Epub ahead of print]Black nurse in white space? Rethinking the in/visibility of race within the Australian nursing workplaceThis article presents an analysis of data from a critical qualitative study with 14 skilled black African migrant nurses, which document their experiences of nurse‐to‐nurse racism and racial prejudice in Australian nursing workplaces. Racism generally and nurse‐to‐nurse racism specifically, continues to be under‐researched in explorations of these workplaces; when racism (...) is researched, the focus is nurse‐to‐patient racism and racial prejudice. Similarly, research on the experiences of migrant nurses from a variety of ethnicities in Australia has tended to neglect their experiences of the social dynamics of the workplace, thus reinforcing their racialisation. When racialised, the migrant nurse becomes ‘the problem’ through a focus on English language competency and ensuing communication barriers. This paper applies Essed’s framework of ‘everyday racism’ to theorise narratives of racism by black African migrant nurses in Australia. In so doing, it not only brings to the fore silenced discussions of nurse‐to‐nurse racism in Australia, but also exposes the subtle, mundane nature of contemporary racism. For this reason, while the data we present must be read within their context, that is, the Australian nursing workplace, it has significance for advancing a critical analysis of racialised minority groups’ experiences of racism within seemingly ‘race‐less’ nursing workplaces internationally. (shrink)