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Crowdfunding involves raising money from large groups of individuals, often through the use of websites dedicated to this purpose. Crowdfunding campaigns aimed at raising money to pay for expenses related to receiving medical treatment are receiving increased media attention and there is evidence that medical crowdfunding websites are heavily used. Nonetheless, virtually no scholarly attention has been paid to these medical crowdfunding campaigns and there is no systematic evidence about how widely they are used and for what reasons, and what effects they have on the provision of medical care and individuals' relationships to their health systems. Ethical concerns have been raised in relation to these campaigns, focusing on issues for campaigners and donors such as exposure to fraudulent campaigns, loss of privacy, and fairness in how medical crowdfunding funds are distributed. Medical crowdfunding websites themselves have not been systematically studied, despite their significant influence on how these campaigns are developed and promoted. In this paper, we identify three very broad and pressing ethical questions regarding medical crowdfunding for social scientists to address and offer some preliminary insights into key issues informing future answers to each: Who benefits the most from medical crowdfunding and how does medical crowdfunding affect access to medical care; How does medical crowdfunding affect our understanding of the causes of inadequate access to medical care; and How are campaigner and donor privacy affected by website design? Our observations indicate the need for increased scholarly attention to the ethical and practical effects of medical crowdfunding for campaigners, recipients, donors, and the health system as a whole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article summarizes and harmoniously integrates the author's thoughts regarding the crisis, evolution and re-articulation of the social sciences in the nation and the production and emergence of convivial research. In this paper, the author determines concepts, positions and ethical implications of this novel research focus, its challenges and scope. Finally, the paper explains and establishes the basis for diverse possible applications and future prospects for this "investigative position" that is fertilely heuristic and creative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the journey of a collaborative research project that was guided by the knowledge, skills, and values of social work training. The learning resulting from this multidisciplinary collaboration emphasizes the importance of the core principle of having a client-centered approach to all aspects of the research process. As the purpose of research in the social science fields is to glean knowledge that can be used to build a more evidenced-based practice model, the authors contend that multidisciplinary alliance and the meaningful involvement of clients in the process can greatly inform and assist the practice of the clinicians involved in research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Conducting anthropological research into situations where public health interventions are ongoing raises a number of complex ethical issues. This paper addresses this by focusing on recent debate around questions of informed consent in research situations into health care in the ‘developing’ world. Two issues are developed: firstly, that of anthropological engagement with medical research trials; and secondly, how medical ethics debates have impinged upon and influenced anthropological ideas of ethics. Drawing on personal anthropological research into the implementation of the WHO prescribed tuberculosis control programme (DOTS) in the context of Nepal, I outline a number of ethical dilemmas and issues that arose. This research context included other ongoing research into DOTS implementation, as well as the local culture of health care provision. It involved moving between a number of sites and subject positions while interacting with heath professionals and patients. In conclusion, rather than prescribing ethical norms for researchers in such situations, I argue that we need more ethnographic examples and case studies as a means of thinking through the issues. I suggest that we need to reflect on both the ethical issues that arise when undertaking research into multifaceted public health interventions and into the situations where ethical guidelines and stipulations are formulated. The best place for this may be the Internet, where we increasingly see the conditions emerging for open dialogue. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The appropriateness and desirability of researching children have been issues of some debate. Children may be perceived as non-competent or vulnerable, and proxies have been used as children's representatives. Increasingly researchers are speaking to children directly. Why is this so and what are the methodological and ethical implications of researching children's views? In this paper the authors draw on their own experiences of researching children in the fields of child carers and the impact of the Child Support Act 1991. A number of social, political and legal trends are identified which form a background to the growing interest in children as potential and actual participants in the research process. The theoretical, methodological, ethical and practical issues involved are then identified and described, using examples from two separate studies conducted by the authors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The title of a collection on `ethics and methodology of research with children' implies that research with children necessarily raises unique questions about ethics and methods. Our paper questions whether this is so, what the unique questions might be and how they arise. We consider that any extra complications in research with children are common to research with other `minority' groups. The main complications do not arise from children's inabilities or misperceptions, but from the positions ascribed to children in late twentieth-century Western societies. Clarity about the social origins of any complications in research with children is crucial if these complications are to be addressed. Ethics, methods, theories, data and policy conclusions are inextricably interwoven, and it is important to acknowledge how initial theories inevitably shape policies. Reasons are given fir preferring rights-based to child-centred ethics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]