Chapter 6
The limits of confidentiality in unstructured interviews and focus groups
By now, readers will have understood, as the students in the classes did, that mastering an ethics concept in one chapter does not mean that the concept will have the same meaning in the next chapter. Once established, seemingly robust concepts like confidentiality can be dissected, taking on a different shape. These concepts are like a Russian doll; inside one doll is another and then yet another. For example, in Chapter 3, Eve’s story and Venkatesh’s research establish the importance of the concept of informed consent. Yet in Chapter 4, the focus on the virtual reality puzzle demonstrated that informed consent is not always feasible. Other ethical assurances ...
