Paper short abstract:

I'll introduce some dilemmas regarding ethical standards when recruiting former alcohol dependent individuals through media solicitation. The main question is: What ethical standards should we apply in a research that could be regulated by different sets of ethical regulations?

Paper long abstract:

The main question arose before I began the research on formerly alcohol dependent individuals, which I mostly recruited through media solicitation. As a psychologist I was obliged to use the ethical standards of the Psychological Association; working in the field of health care, I was bound to the principals of medical ethics; and conducting anthropological research on former patients and partly on non-patients, I used anthropological ethical regulations. The paper is aimed at answering three questions:

1. What would be a case of a good practice in applying different standards in research field that is seemingly regulated by different sets of ethical regulations?

2. What would be the best way to avoid risks with research participants and maximize the benefits from knowledge, produced through qualitative research?

3. What are subjective ethical considerations when volunteering in such research?