PT Journal
AU Vales, M
SO Romanica Olomucensia
PY 2011
BP 31
EP 37
VL 23
IS 1
DI 10.5507/ro.2011.005
DE ethics; sociolinguistic research; informed consent; vulnerable subject; vulnerable community; participant.
AB Standard ethical procedures, based on the informed consent, may result hardly applicable in vulnerable communities. In the same way the methodology of research encounters specific problems in these communities. Based on a personal experience gained during the research of Lakhota language revitalization in South Dakota and Shuar language in Ecuador, this paper intends to draw attention to some methodological problems and to the relativity of ethical criteria. Respectful treatment of participants in the research should be the primary preoccupation of any sociolinguist. For this reason, one of the main objectives of this paper is to propose some general rules to be considered when dealing with vulnerable communities.
ER