Perplexing positions: On the researcher’s role and ethics in the field

While undertaking qualitative research, researchers often experience issues with an emotional or ethical charge. That backstage reality of the research process is not often discussed in public. In this article, we argue that (ethical) research inheres an important learning process. Research errors – in this article dilemmas - should be revealed to the academic world rather than swept under the carpet. Researchers should be encouraged to describe and reflect on these dilemmas as it helps them to become more aware of what they are doing when they are in the thick of their research. Using this (ethical) reflexivity, our article examines real encountered ethical dilemmas in the field by a junior PhD researcher. In doing so, more methodological awareness was created and the research quality was increased. We hope that our ethical reflexive exercise will inspire other researchers and contribute as such to the body of methodological knowledge.