Ethical issues in interviewing

A study of the help-seeking behaviours of alcohol dependent and problem drinking women raised a number of ethical issues. It had been anticipated that the design of the study and the construction and approval of appropriate consent forms would eliminate the majority of problems. While this was true, a number of unforeseen points emerged during the course of the study related to interviewing women, discussing emotive issues and the responsibilities of the researcher vis-à-vis their samples. This paper discusses the issues raised using specific examples drawn from the research study.