Given below are two statements:
Statement I: A rigid application of ethical principles is not possible in ethnographic research.
Statement II: The principle of informed consent is theoretical, as pre-information is likely to affect the research findings.
In the light of the above statements, choose the most appropriate answer from the options given below:

Correct option is A

· Statement I is true because in ethnographic research, a strict or rigid application of ethical principles can be challenging due to the nature of long-term fieldwork, participant observation, and the fluid relationships that researchers build with participants. Ethnographers often find themselves in complex, real-world situations that require flexible ethical considerations, such as maintaining trust while balancing ethical obligations like confidentiality.
· Statement II is also true because, in ethnographic research, the principle of informed consent can be complicated. While informed consent is essential, providing full pre-information about the study may influence participants' behavior and alter the natural setting being observed. In some cases, researchers use ongoing or "process consent," where participants are informed and asked for consent as the study progresses, allowing for more authentic data collection.
Information Booster 1. Ethnographic research involves immersive fieldwork, where the researcher interacts closely with participants in their natural environment.
2. Ethical dilemmas in ethnography arise from the need to protect participants while maintaining authentic observations, often requiring flexibility in ethical practices.
3. Informed consent may be tricky in naturalistic settings because fully informing participants upfront can lead them to change their behavior, affecting the research findings.
4. Researchers often use process consent in ethnography, ensuring that participants are continually informed and can withdraw consent at any point.
5. Balancing ethical principles like privacy, confidentiality, and consent with the goals of deep, authentic research is a major challenge in ethnographic studies.
6. Ethical flexibility is sometimes necessary in qualitative research to handle unanticipated situations in a real-world context.