Anthropological Ethics

AAA is committed to helping all anthropologists have access to quality information regarding methodological and ethical best practices. The Association’s Principles of Professional Responsibility include:

1. Do No Harm
2. Be Open and Honest Regarding Your Work
3. Obtain Informed Consent and Necessary Permissions
4. Weigh Competing Ethical Obligations Due Collaborators and Affected Parties
5. Make Your Results Accessible
6. Protect and Preserve Your Records
7. Maintain Respectful and Ethical Professional Relationships

Each of these principles is more fully defined in the full AAA Statement On Ethics. The Association has also established a Policy on Sexual Harassment and Sexual Assault.

The Members’ Programmatic, Advisory and Advocacy Committee (MPAAC) regularly updates the AAA Ethics Forum, which contains discussions and case studies of use to the discipline. Contributions are always welcome for consideration.

Have an ethical conundrum that could use insight from a group of AAA Ethics scholars? The AAA Ethics Advisory Group consists of Association members who have served AAA in leadership roles related to ethics. The group responds to queries submitted via moc.liamg@kcabdeeFscihtEAAA. Note that the Ethics Advisory Group is not an adjudicating body.

In dealing with ethical dilemmas, anthropology students, researchers and practitioners may find the following resources useful:

• Institutional Review Boards and Anthropology
• American Association of University Professors statement on Sexual Harassment
• What To Do About Sexual Harassment

AAA Code of Ethics

• Join the online discussion of the current Code of Ethics
• Ethics Code
  • Current Statement (2012)
  • 2009 version (PDF)
  • 1998 version (PDF)
  • Final Report of the Commission to Review the AAA Statement on Ethics

Teaching Ethics

• Handbook on Ethical Issues in Anthropology
• Ethics in Anthropology Course Syllabus and Bibliography (PDF) by Leslie Sponsel (U of Hawaii)

Other AAA groups that are currently addressing anthropological ethics:

• Friends of the Committee on Ethics

Other anthropological and social science associations that have established ethics codes or statements:

• American Association of Physical Anthropologists
• American Sociological Association
• American Folklore Society
• American Psychological Association
• Archaeological Institute of America (PDF)
• Register of Professional Archaeologists (RPA)
• The Society for American Archaeology
• The Society for Economic Botany
• The World Archaeological Congress
• The Linguistic Society of America

Other online ethics resources, including free modules for Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) training:

• Macquarie University’s Online Ethics Training Module
• Ethics Core: The National Center for Professional and Research Ethics Digital Library
• UCSD Resources for Research Ethics and Education
• National Academy of Sciences Online Ethics Center for Engineering and Research
• Fordham University Center for Ethics Education’s Research Ethics Scales and Measures