”Do no harm”: Ethics, management and research projects

Research is a lot about of ideas, theories, methods, data, analysis – and it is
also about ethics. Indeed, I see ethics as part of methods and methodology,
not an optional add-on. As I have done more research and writing, both within
and outside funded projects, I have become more and more convinced of the
importance of how research is managed (McKie et al., 2006), and how ethical
issues are central in that managing. This is not just about doing good research,
but is part of the politics of research, and vital for the maintenance of re-
searchers’ well-being. Some of this realisation has come from the manage-
ment, managing, leading and supervision of research and research projects, as
well as doctoral research studies; and some from being managed by others.
The ethical invocation, “do no harm”, not only concerns the carrying out of
research with ‘research subjects’ – as in interviewing, observations, surveys –
important as that obviously is; however, it should be stressed that ethics, and
“do no harm”, also concern the whole activity of research and research pro-
jects, their focus, managing and social process.