ETHICAL DILEMMAS IN SOCIAL-RESEARCH - NO EASY SOLUTIONS

Ethical dilemmas have been encountered in many areas of social researc h and have at times been the subject of much controversy. Despite this , the problem of how to tackle ethical dilemmas has received little at tention in the literature. As a result, researchers faced with these d ilemmas have little knowledge to draw upon, and groups associated with research, such as participating agencies and ethics committees, may n ot fully appreciate all the issues involved in dealing with ethical di lemmas. These issues are not only philosophical in nature but relate a lso to the methodological and practical implications of following one, rather than another, ethical principle. The researchers encountered a number of ethical dilemmas in their research in child protection. By discussing different approaches to solving ethical dilemmas, they inte nd to show that this is a complex problem and one which, along with et hics in general, requires greater attention in the literature.