En las letras de rosa está la rosa: el uso de pseudónimos como dilema ético

Article

Summary

Those of us who conduct qualitative research must distinguish two ethical dimensions: The normative or formal, and the factual or everyday dimension. Based on the assumption that ethical reflexivity allows us to connect both of them, in this article I present the reflective process followed to solve one of the many unexpected ethical dilemmas that I identified during a sociological study. The dilemma took place when I asked my research participants to choose their own pseudonyms and I stumbled upon the rejection of some. Not only they refused to select a pseudonym, but also to have one assigned to them. Considering, as Borges does, that it is important to reflect on the significance of names, in this article I offer a literature review of the different positions adopted by other qualitative researchers on anonymity and its most blatant mechanism: pseudonymization. Additionally, I propose a typology of four pseudonymization strategies (dogmatic, conciliatory, emancipatory, and sceptical). Finally, I explain the changes I made in my pseudonymization strategies to honour the request of my research participants while still complying with the guiding principles of justice, autonomy, and benevolence that govern all research involving human beings.

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http://hdl.handle.net/11336/210917