A different kind of ethics

Drawing on four ‘tales from the field’, provided one each by the authors, this article examines the ethical and moral dilemmas ethnographers can face during their research. In particular, we address two key questions. First, what does being ethical actually involve? Second, is there a moral duty owed by researchers and, if so, to whom is this duty owed? The article reviews current debates over ethics in ethnographic research, specifically the responsibilities of the researcher to his/her research subjects, before turning to the four ‘tales from the field’. These tales form the basis for a discussion of a researcher’s ethical responsibilities when confronted with wrongdoing, in different forms, in the course of their fieldwork.