Between identities, emotions and ethical practice in fieldwork | Research Ethics
From IOE Insights by UCL Institute of Education
May 11, 2026 · 28 min
About this episode
The episode discusses the ethical challenges researchers face when their personal experiences intersect with their research data, particularly in emotionally charged interviews.
What happens when a researcher’s own story becomes part of the data? And how do you ethically navigate moments when participants’ emotions – joy, frustration – surface in the interview process? In this episode, Dr Hakan Ergül speaks with Stephanie Hoi-Ying Chan, a PhD student at IOE. Stephanie’s doctoral research explores the lived experiences and professional identity development of primary music teachers in Hong Kong. Drawing on her background as a classically trained musician and former primary music teacher, Stephanie reflects on the ethical tensions of managing multiple identities in the field, handling emotionally charged interviews, and translating rich Cantonese narratives into English without losing meaning or voice. Full show notes and links: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/news/2026/may/between-identities-emotions-and-ethical-practice-fieldwork-research-ethics More IOE Insights podcasts: https://uclioe.info/podcast UCL Institute of Education: https://ucl.ac.uk/ioe
People in this episode
Host: Dr Hakan Ergül
Guest: Stephanie Hoi-Ying Chan
Topics covered
- research ethics
- fieldwork
- emotional intelligence
- identity
- music education
- interview techniques
Keywords
- research ethics
- fieldwork
- emotions
- identity
- music teachers
- Cantonese narratives
- interview process
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: UCL Institute of Education
Books & works: Cantonese
Places: Hong Kong
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