Covert Research

Types of Covert Research

It is possible to distinguish between active and passive forms of covert research. Arguably, the distinction between the two forms is meaningless because, in both cases, participants do not contribute willingly to the study. However, active forms of covert research are often more problematic than passive forms because [Page 134]deceit is such a fundamental part of fieldwork relationships. When conducting active forms of covert research, investigators may purposefully obscure their identities and intentionally misrepresent their motivations for engaging in social interaction. For example, a researcher may participate in the activities of a religious organization as a member of the congregation, or may join a commercial organization as an employee, while actually conducting research on the organization and its members. Most of the prominent and controversial covert research has involved this type of subterfuge. However, researchers may gain access to a group or an individual overtly and still conduct covert research. For example, an investigator can claim to be conducting research on one subject area while secretly using contact time with participants to ask questions, observe activities, and/or gain access to documents that are unrelated to the study to which participants agreed to contribute.

Passive forms of covert research are also conducted without the knowledge or consent of those being studied, but investigators do not attempt to deceive or mislead participants. Traditionally, the most common example of this type of covert research has involved observation of social and physical activity in public places such as shopping malls, parks, restaurants, cafes, and bars. However, with the growth of virtual communities, studies of interaction and communications in internet chat rooms and through electronic message boards are increasing. Investigators may observe and monitor the online interaction of other participants but choose not to contribute or provide a formal explanation of their research. Researchers may also use nonre-active methods to gain information about individuals. For example, an investigator may interview one person as a way to get information about a second individual or group of people, or a researcher may examine records kept on people by organizations without the consent of the individuals concerned.

Passive forms of covert research often emerge because of particular contextual aspects of the fieldwork rather than a need for deception or subterfuge. For example, when conducting observational research in places where interaction between people is minimal, especially in places that people inhabit for short periods, the offer of any detailed explanation or the gaining of formal consent is unfeasible. Furthermore, when a researcher tries to gain access to a group or community without the help of a formal gatekeeper who could introduce the researcher and mediate his or her entry, the researcher's identity and intentions will inevitably remain hidden from certain members of that group.

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