Ethical Dilemmas in Creating Multimedia Recordings

Much like in law photographic and video data have a distinct set of ethical dilemmas that set them apart from the more common audio interview and subsequent written transcript. Pink (2001) acknowledges the power of the visual across cultures and is cognisant of the potential anxieties and pains associated with the medium. In research situations, where participants are often in a subordinate position to the researcher (which is certainly the case in law relating to multi-media), it is important that the sensitivities towards the visual are factored into the design of the study. In particular participants should be fully consulted before any photographic or filming work begins and any objections need to be taken with great seriousness.

The subsequent use of photographic and video materials also needs to be established with informants prior to data collection. This is particularly important where the participants are considered vulnerable – children, victims of crimes, criminals, the disabled and so on. Particular attention must be paid to representations with multi-media data as less can be done to anonymise respondents and maintain confidentiality (see next section). While there have been few legal cases within the social sciences with regards to the collection and representation of visual data, journalists and broadcasters have been dealing with such concerns for decades. The Ofcom Broadcasting Code 2005 clearly stipulates that due care must be taken over the physical and emotional welfare and the dignity of people under eighteen who take part or are otherwise involved in any programme. It further states that people under eighteen must not be caused unnecessary distress or anxiety by their involvement in programmes or by the broadcast of those programmes (www.ofcom.org.uk). Several high profile legal cases have emerged over the inappropriate use of library footage in broadcast television programmes heightening the media’s sensitivity to these issues. Similarly researchers working with photographic and video materials need to be acutely aware not only of the sensitivities of respondents to the visual, but also the potential legal ramifications that may result from ill-judged multi-media representations. Much of these potential pitfalls can be negated by maintaining close and trusting relationships with participants and adopting where possible Pink’s (2001) notion of the collaborative method in generating visual data.

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