Yorkville University

Should we Maintain or Break Confidentiality? The Choices Made by Social Researchers in the Context of Law Violation and Harm

From p. 230:

Introduction

• Breaching confidentiality may expose informants to harm
• It also reduces the trust that is required when collecting valuable data (Finch 2001), especially in qualitative research and research with vulnerable participants
• Furthermore, it may undermine the researcher’s credibility and ability to conduct research and future studies in given community
• In addition, it demonstrates a lack of respect for the informants by ignoring his or her privacy and right to self-decide