LamprouMemo35

Memo 35 Ethical Conundrums For the purposes of my project I will interview people with various expertises in the case of nanotechnology: scientists, policy makers, industry stakeholders. How I am going to approach them and negotiate their participation is an important ethical issue. My own orientation towards nanotechnology research and handling of the products is negative. I believe that research is conducted irresponsible without any consideration of the negative outcomes. I believe that the scientists care only for their research and patenting their products; policy makers are interested in making policies that will mainly benefit the market and if by the way benefit the public and the environment as well, that can be considered too. But this is not their main goal. How then will I position myself? How do I approach the interviewees showing them that I am not the enemy so they will talk to me? I have to accept then the ethical dilemma: do I show that I think what they are doing is wrong and then risk losing them as informants? Do I chose informants that I know they are thinking the same way I do, and at the same time risk to have a partly conducted research? Or do I convince myself that I don’t know ahead of time what is going to happen, trying to be neutral during the whole process? After conducting my research, how do I make an evaluation of the entire project? How am I going to interpret my data? Through my project I do not just explore standards; I talk about them as they are going to heart people, focusing not only on the outcomes but the processes as well. Being more sensitive to the lay people and civil society organizations, do I accept my bias or not? Do I hide it and appear neutral, or do I accept it with the risk of interpreted data form a certain standpoint?