By ordering a salad, you present a healthy example while being honest about what you like to eat. However, are you simply reinforcing the stereotype of the slim upper/middle class New Yorker and making your participant feel self-conscious about her choice of meal and, ultimately, compromising the research through this?
Respect for persons:
By doing what you would normally do, you show respect for your research participant by being honest about who you are. However, it may be disrespectful to your research participant and her culture to order something you know she would not normally choose to eat.
Beneficence:
Eating salad is generally considered to be a healthy practice, so by demonstrating that you, a person who has earned the trust of your research participant, eats this way, you may inspire others to do the same, ultimately benefitting their health.
Justice:
Access to healthy food is a justice issue, with limited access to healthy foods and food deserts more likely to be an issue in areas of low socio-economic status. By increasing access of your participants to healthy foods, even in this small way, you promote food justice.
My Decision:
In the end, the researcher felt that choosing salad would send the message that she was somehow “better” than her research participant since she was choosing to eat healthy and she did not feel that this was a true or honest message.
By ordering a salad, you present a healthy example while being honest about what you like to eat. However, are you simply reinforcing the stereotype of the slim upper/middle class New Yorker and making your participant feel self-conscious about her choice of meal and, ultimately, compromising the research through ...
By ordering a higher fat and culturally appropriate meal, you are showing that you enjoy and are interested in participating in the cultural practices of your research community. However, are you sending mixed messages about nutrition and encouraging your research participants to eat meals that may be less healthy ...
By ordering the soup, you show that you appreciate Mexican foods and, also, that you understand that these foods can be nutritious and delicious. Chicken soup is not considered a "special" food so you show that you enjoy simple foods. But are you really being honest about yourself?
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Balancing the dilemma of ordering is overwhelming so you ask your research participant if she would choose a meal for you. This relieves you of the responsibility and may give you a unique window into how your participant perceives you but is it really ethical to give up control ...
What do you think?