Review: Julia Franz & Ursula Unterkofler (Eds.) (2021). Forschungsethik in der Sozialen Arbeit. Prinzipien und Erfahrungen [Research Ethics in Social Work. Ethical Principles and Experiences]

Abstract

In the anthology presented here, the research ethics code adopted by the German Society for Social Work in 2020 is placed at the center of debate. The code is regarded as an ethical guideline, oriented towards United Nations conventions, to guide researchers to reflect on their own work in self-commitment and responsibility, and to apply for a clearance report from an ethics committee. The authors discuss the ethical principles of the code and the dilemmas arising from contradictions in a multi-faceted, practical, and solution-oriented way. An overview of different field approaches is provided and orientation for the realization of a research process is given. Universal, step-by-step guidance for specific fields is not given in this text. Instead, with a wealth of illustrative practical examples, possibilities and needs for further development are pointed out and guidance is given for finding an ethical implementation in the respective concrete projects.