Agency and power in research: some thoughts about informed consent forms

Abstract

This article discusses some premises that constitute informed consent forms, assuming they should not be taken for granted. I argue that the use of informed consent forms should be understood within a research relationship, which is always an intersubjective relation between two or more socially positioned individuals. I develop these reflection based on my recent experiences of anthropological research on pregnancy and birth, during which I used an informed consent form in two stages but not in an intermediary phase, which was dedicated to focus on kinship relations during pregnancy more than the bodily experience itself. Thus, by comparing these three situations, I examine their particularities in obtaining consent, discussing agency, power, and ethics in social research.