The fine balancing act: Tension between macro and micro ethics: A response to “Why should I care? Research ethics in the field of adult L2 literacy”

There are increasing interests around research ethics which are reflected through the ongoing dedicated conferences, edited volumes and journal special issues. While there is no shortage of “formal” guidance, e.g. the Singapore Statement on Research Integrity (2010; Resnik and Shamoo, 2011), the British Educational Research Association’s Ethical Guidelines for Educational Research (BERA, 2024), and the British Association for Applied Linguistics’ Recommendations on Good Practice in Applied Linguistics (BAAL, 2021), the article “Why should I care? Research ethics in the field of adult L2 literacy” by Shepperd and Dalderop serves as a solemn reminder that the current ethics and governance structure in the “Global North” context is far from perfect. In this response piece, I discuss some of the issues highlighted by the vignettes shared by Shepperd and Dalderop. I echo and extend their call for the practice of ethics of care, and the importance of raising awareness among researchers, ethics reviewing committee, as well as gatekeepers including editors and reviewers at the publication of end of research cycle.