Guardians of research: negotiating the strata of gatekeepers in research with vulnerable participants (original) (raw)

Time for Cinderella to go to the ball: Reflections on the right to freedom of scientific research

South African Law Journal, 2021

Despite the fact that the Constitution explicitly protects the right to freedom of scientific research, this right features neither in the preamble to any legislation, nor in any reported case law. If the right to freedom of scientific research remains in obscurity, South Africa could slip into totalitarian control of the scientific enterprise, to the detriment not only of scientists, but also of society in general. The right to freedom of scientific research should play a more central role in policy-making. This is not only because it is an enumerated constitutional right, but also because it is important in its own right, as it serves purposes that are at the core of our constitutional value-system: promoting individual autonomy, facilitating the search for truth, and supporting democracy. The right to freedom of scientific research is unique in protecting not only the exchange of scientific thoughts and information, but also in particular the physical activities entailed by scien...

Gatekeepers and the Social Control of Social Research

Social Problems, 1976

Increasing concern has been expressed over the way sponsorship of research by various governmental agencies and private foundations has influenced the "objectivity" of scientific investigations. Actual manifestations of the social control of research can be studied through an analysis of the role of the "gatekeeper." Gatekeeping influences the research endeavor in a number of ways: by limiting conditions of entry, by defining the problem area of study, by limiting access to data and respondents, by restricting the scope of analysis, and by retaining prerogatives with respect to publication. Strategies are not well developed for managing pressures of gatekeeping. Furthermore, the location of researchers within university settings mitigates against confrontation with gatekeepers, particularly if the research effort is directed toward elites or powerful institutions. Where institutions such as universities agree with gatekeepers that proposed sensitive and critical research would be "inappropriate," researchers must create autonomous positions from which to conduct their research. * The views expressed herein of the second author are solely his own and no support or endorsement by the National Institute of Education or the Department of Health, Education and Welfare is intended or should be inferred.

The Role of Gatekeepers in Research: Learning from Reflexivity and Reflection

2016

Research is now an integral part of everyday health, education and social science practice. These professions need to be responsive to meet the changing needs in light of evidence based research findings. Within this process, gatekeepers have a key role to ensure researchers gain access to potential participants and sites for research. Positive influences of the gatekeepers can be invaluable to the research process by facilitating the smooth running of research activity to completion. At times, gatekeeping can be problematic with researchers having limited or no access to sites. In this present study to recruit vulnerable adolescents, a number of gatekeepers denied, limited or delayed access to potential participants and sites despite ethical, professional and organizational approval. In response, the researchers incorporated learning tools to address challenges brought about by gatekeepers in this study and for improvements in future studies. Reflexivity was used during the study t...

Essential Tensions: Identity, Control, and Risk in Research

Social Studies of Science, 2005

This paper examines the tensions and paradoxes that arise during the life course of research groups as they strive to establish and maintain an identity, acquire and retain control of an ensemble of research technologies, and evaluate and choose the risks they are willing to accept in their work. My central aim is to rekindle interest in the ambivalences, tensions, and paradoxes of science by identifying and illustrating the tensions that characterize research groups. Among the questions of concern are: How does a group establish an independent identity while remaining connected with its field of research? How are consistency of focus and continuity of approach balanced against the freedom younger scientists need to develop as independent investigators? What varieties of risks are encountered in research and how are they evaluated and navigated? Based on intensive, repeated, face-to-face interviews with scientists at various levels of seniority at elite private and public universiti...