Blog Post 10- Ethical Research

 For this week's post, I have decided to focus on the McKinnon's paper on communication ethics in the field of scholarly writing. This topic is important, as I feel that this is one line of work that is contingent on ethics; or, at least, should be. When doing research and engaging with people about the topics being researched, it is of the utmost important to ensure not only that you are portraying people in an accurate and honest light, but also to be sure that the research you are doing is to benefit people. 

In this article, I looked specifically at the section where Johnson reviewed past research she had done on Walter Freemon's work on lobotomy patients. As she was working to find information on his patients, she found that much of the information was completely blocked, as the files were still private from the public. She states that she felt by being unable to tell their stories, she was failing them. This made her question who she was failing. Was it  the patients themselves, their families, or the public by not being able to share what has happened in the past? It is interesting, as well, to consider who the private files are protecting. It is now clear to us that lobotomies were a horrific process, on that people should not have been put through. So that being said, are these protected files protecting the patients or the doctors?

It is important to consider who you are impacting while doing research. It can help you to frame your research appropriately, and fin the right people to talk to in order to obtain first hand information. Not only this, but it can also help you to decide whether or not the work you are doing is ethical.