Description
Based on personal ethnographic fieldwork among migrant and refugee groups residing in Poland, I examine the ethical challenges faced by researchers throughout the entire research process—from field entry to the global dissemination of results. The paper argues that ethics in migration studies is not confined to consent or confidentiality but evolves dynamically as the researcher’s role shifts from observer and participant to interpreter, communicator, and advocate.
The analysis suggests to trace the five (and not limit to) interconnected levels of ethnographic practice: (1) fieldwork through observation, participation, and the collection of life stories; (2) interpretation by the researcher; (3) interaction with peers and with research participants as co-interpreters; (4) presentation and negotiation of findings in academic and public fora; and (5) the potential influence of research on decision-making at local, national, and international levels. At each stage, ethical tensions emerge—between representation and agency, authenticity and advocacy, and the narratives constructed.
Drawing on Hastrup’s A Passage to Anthropology (1995), Callaway’s Ethnography and Experience (1992), and Amrit’s Constructing the Field (2000), the paper highlights how researchers’ positionalities and interpretive choices shape both the ethics and outcomes of their work. Insights from Appadurai (1996), Pink (2013; 2016), and Fassin (2011) further situate these dilemmas within globalised fields of mediation, humanitarian reason, and moral responsibility.
Ultimately, the paper questions whether International Studies as a discipline is adequately equipped to interact with migration studies. What transformations in epistemology, methodology, and pedagogy are needed for research to remain ethically grounded while influencing international policy and scholarship?
Key words: migration, ethnography, fieldwork, research ethics, interpretation ethics.
