Stuck in the middle: research ethics caught between science and politics

Abstract

The literature on research ethics tends to overlook the influence of the specific subject matter on the ethical dilemmas that emerge during the research process itself. In this article, the specific subject matter is complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). The article discusses the ethical dilemmas that derive from controversies about research within this highly politicized field, in which scientific knowledge is a potential object of misuse. The article shows that research ethics is no longer a matter of internalizing professional codes of conduct. Rather, it is embedded in the totality of scholarly practice. Ethically aware practice depends to a considerable extent on the qualities and skills of the researcher. The particular skills needed are discernment, imagination, partiality and personal authenticity.