What is the most important ethical guideline that anthropologists follow?

Ko tā mātou ngā mema o ASAA/NZ, he ū ki te Tiriti o Waitangi hei tūāpapa o te motu whānui o Aotearoa.

Ko tā mātou ngā mema o ASAA/NZ, he hāpai i te mana whenua o te iwi Māori o Aotearoa, o Niu Tireni.

We, the members of the ASAA/NZ, are committed to the Treaty of Waitangi as the foundation stone of Aotearoa New Zealand as a nation.

We, the members of the ASAA/NZ, recognise the rights of the tangata whenua as the indigenous people of Aotearoa New Zealand.

How the Preamble was Added to the ASAANZ Code of Ethics (by Jeff Sluka)

The need for a code of professional ethics was first expressed within the NZASA (the precursor of the ASAA/NZ) in 1981 by contract researchers. At that time, Nancy Bowers was appointed to do preliminary work on drawing up a code for the association, and then at the 1986 AGM it was decided to appoint a committee to draft a code or statement on ethics similar to the AAA’s “Principles of Professional Responsibility.”  The committee was composed of Jeff Sluka, Steve Webster, Julie Park, and Ngahuia te Awekotuku.  They concluded that it was too difficult and unnecessary to write a completely new code of ethics, and instead recommended adopting the AAA Principles with some amendments adapting it to the New Zealand context. 

At the 1987 AGM, the committee presented a draft “New Zealand Association of Social Anthropologists: Principles of Professional Responsibility and Ethical Conduct.” Following discussion, this was then circulated to the membership and all anthropology departments at New Zealand universities for comments and recommendations, and a session was scheduled for the 1988 meetings to further discuss and debate it and, if appropriate, vote for its ratification. After six years of discussion and development, the code was subsequently ratified at the 1988 AGM. 

At the 1988 AGM, Judith Simon raised the issue of the place of the Treaty of Waitangi and suggested that the concept of partnership and the ‘spirit’ of the Treaty should be built in to the association. A working party was established to consider ways the principles of the Treaty could be ‘embraced’ by the association. The members were Judith Simon, Grahame Smith, Anne Salmond, and Waerete Norman, who concluded that the best way forward was to develop a simple and general statement which could be included as a preamble to the association’s constitution and ethics code. This proposal was approved at the 1989 AGM.

At the 1990 AGM, the Treaty of Waitangi working party tabled a draft preamble which was discussed and minor grammatical amendments were made. The following draft was then circulated to the membership for comment and feedback:  

Ka tumanaako maatou nga mema ki te Tiriti o Waitangi, he kaamaka hoki no Aotearoa Niutiirena katoa.

We, the members of the NZASA, are committed to the goals and practices of the Treaty of Waitangi, as a founding cornerstone of New Zealand as a nation.

Ka tumanaako anoo maatou nga mema ki te tangata whenua i runga i te mea he iwi tuuturuu hoki no Aotearoa Niutiirena nei.

We, the members of the NZAA, recognise the rights of the tangata whenua as the indigenous people of New Zealand.

A proposal to add this Preamble to the ethics code was then approved at the 1991 AGM.

In 2016, the Executive Committee approved some minor changes to spelling and grammatical errors in the Code of Ethics, and at the same time sought advice about the English and te reo Māori versions of the preamble. Margaret Kawharu and Hone Waengarangi Morris indicated that the te reo Māori version could be revised to better reflect the English version. Hone Waengarangi Morris provided the Executive Committee with a revised translation into te reo Māori, which was accepted in 2016. This is the version in use today.

In the last blog post, you learned how Cultural Anthropologists do research. Anthropologists can’t just research people whenever and wherever and however they want. There are professional guidelines for Anthropologists. Here are 7 rules every Anthropologist must follow (at least in the United States).

1. Do No Harm

Just as doctors take an oath to do no harm, Anthropologists are supposed to follow this rule as well. They need to think about the possible ways that their research may cause harm to people, and consider the potential consequences of their work. This is especially important if the Anthropologist is working with vulnerable populations, which means groups of people who could be exploited somehow (for example: children, people with mental or intellectual disabilities, and prisoners). Anthropologists need to discontinue a project if it causes harm, such as bodily harm and/or harm to dignity. 

2. Be Open and Honest

Anthropologists cannot be secretive about their work. They have to explain to people what the purpose of the research is, and the methods that will be used to collect data. They also have to explain what will be done with the results of the research as well. In addition, they need to explain who is sponsoring or funding the research project. Anthropologists are not allowed to mislead people or hold back information that might affect people’s decision to take part in the research. Anthropologists are also not allowed to falsify data, or misrepresent information.

3. Obtain Informed Consent

Anthropologists need to ask permission to conduct research on people. Each person needs to give informed consent. This means that the person understands what research is being done, and how and why, and they voluntarily agree to take part. The Anthropologist must make sure the person has not been coerced to join the research project. The Anthropologist also needs to explain how participants will be made anonymous, or how credit will be given to people who want it. 

4. Weigh Competing Ethical Obligations

If an ethical situation happens, the Anthropologist is supposed to consider all the ethical obligations and talk to the people involved before making a decision. Usually, obligations to the research participants come first. For example, the Anthropologist may discover information about participants that is important scientifically, but the people don’t want that information made public. This creates an ethical dilemma, and the Anthropologist must weigh all the factors involved.

5. Make Results Accessible

Anthropologists are supposed to make the results of the research accessible. They should not keep the research results from the research participants unless there are special circumstances. However, there are some circumstances where limiting the distribution of results may be the ethical choice, to prevent harm from coming to participants.

6. Protect and Preserve Records

Anthropologists need to decide how records will be stored, preserved, or disposed of, because some of the information needs to be kept confidential. Anthropologists also have to let people know who is going to be able to access their information.

7. Be Professional

Anthropologists should behave ethically and respectfully at all times. Anthropologists should not exploit people or materials. Also, Anthropologists should acknowledge all contributions to their research projects, so that anyone who helped them gets the proper credit.

So, these are the 7 rules every Anthropologist must follow. For more information and details on the Principles of Professional Responsibility for Anthropologists, please visit the American Anthropological Association’s Website.  

Thanks for reading!

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