Ethical Applied Linguistics Research

Abstract

This chapter presents the historical development of research ethics in applied linguistics and then outlines core issues that applied linguists are likely to face when conducting research. Best practices within the field will be discussed and attention called to little discussed elements of research ethics, specifically issues involving academic or professional conduct and behaviors that could lead to unethical practices. Also highlighted will be the growing reliance on Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) as the benchmark for ethical research by providing cases of ethical issues that were unlikely to be covered during IRB training or in the IRB application process. While the nomenclature will differ from country to country, we will use the term IRB to refer to any research ethics board. The main thrust of this chapter is to provide support for teaching research ethics in graduate-level applied linguistics courses and afford guidance to novice applied linguists.