Ethical Dilemmas in Qualitative Research: A Critical Literature Review

The respect for ethical principles is required during the entire scientific research process, including the dissemination phase. Due to the dynamism of qualitative studies, there are often adverse ethical situations. The aim of this integrative review was to analyze and synthetize ethical dilemmas that occur during the progress of qualitative investigation and the strategies proposed to face them. The search for studies used LILACS and MEDLINE databases with descriptors "research ethics" and "qualitative research", originating 108 titles. Upon reading all titles, 42 articles were elected according to the inclusion criteria. The main conflicts were related to confidentiality breach, disregard of autonomy, potential damages, confusion about the roles of researcher/therapist/friend, and impasses in the Research Ethics Committees. Various types of conflicts may occur in a research. The solutions proposed are based on self-awareness, reflexivity, continuous consent, and ethical mindfulness.