Dealing with Ethical Challenges in HCI Fieldwork

Abstract

We are witnessing an increase in fieldwork within the field of HCI, particularly involving marginalized or under-represented populations. This has posed ethical challenges for researchers during such field studies, with "ethical traps"not always identified during planning stages. This is often aggravated by the inconsistent policy guidelines, training, and application of ethical principles. We ground this in our collective experiences with ethically-difficult research, and frame it within common principles that are common across many disciplines and policy guidelines - representative of the instructors' diverse and international backgrounds.