Research note on ethics and quality as related to paradigm and methods: An example of thematic analysis under critical realism

Research ethics and quality assurance are often treated as given in any context, for instance by following recommendations like the ones from the EU or the American Psychological Association (APA)(European Union, 2013; APA, 2017) and applying quality criteria as from the seminal work by Lincoln and Guba (1985).However, this research note is describing reflections on a case study based on a critical realist stance, using qualitative interviews and thematic analysis as described by Braun and Clarke (2006) in order to illustrate the importance of adapting ethics and quality-related measures to one’s research paradigm and methods. Using this specific example, the paper describes operationalising research ethics by showing the related considerations as commanded or influenced by the critical realist paradigm and thematic analysis of case study interviews in order to illustrate how these reflections have repercussions on the final research design and influence its application. It is argued that by making the closely related topics of ethics, reflexivity and quality assurance a constant part of the research journey and applying related measures thoroughly, results can be improved in order to derive well-founded recommendations generated on an ethical basis.  In order to achieve this, all related measures should be documented in detail.