2.6 Ethics of Research
All researchers should adhere to the ethics of their discipline. This is true of anthropology, too, especially since anthropologists almost always work with human subjects. Proper ethical review requires submitting completed project proposals to their university’s Institutional Review Board (IRB) for work with human subjects or Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) for work with other species.
Below is a partial list of member organizations to which anthropologists commonly belong and links to their ethics pages. Note that the American Anthropological Association is one of the primary organizations, often serving as a guide for others to follow.
- American Anthropological Association – Ethics and Methods
- Human Evolution & Behavior Society – About HBES
- American Association of Biological Anthropologists – Ethics
- International Society for Anthrozoology – Mission
- Society for Cross-Cultural Research – SCCR Statement of Ethics and Values
One of the most important criteria for anthropological research is to enter any study area with cultural relativism and reflexivity. Constant reflexivity helps anthropologists minimize bias in their data, experiences, and results.
the belief that a culture’s ethics and social structures are derived from the context within which it arose.
being able to examine one's own feelings, reactions, and motives (= reasons for acting) and how these influence what they do or think in a situation; being conscious of one's own biases.
