Grounded Theory Research Ethics: Guidelines for Design and Implementation

Early publications on grounded theory methodology contain lit-tle if any explicit discussion of the ethical conduct of research. Reflective of legislation codifying ethical requirements of the re-search enterprise both in the U.S. and abroad, researchers were required to pay increasing attention to ethical aspects of their designs. This inquiry begins by defining research ethics followed by a brief discussion of key controversial ethics cases that helped shape contemporary perspectives on research ethics. A concise summary of formal legislation enacted in the United States is pre-sented as are major principles of ethical research consistent with this legislation. Unique attributes of qualitative designs com-pared to more traditional forms of quantitative research are con-sidered in the design and conduct of ethical qualitative research. Building and extending upon this framework, we focus on the ethics of grounded theory research. We outline considerations specific to grounded theory designs and how contemporary grounded theorists have addressed them. We then provide sys-tematic and comprehensive guidelines or strategies on how to meet ethical requirements useful for graduate students and other scholars and practitioners employing this methodology. We con-clude with suggestions for future research.