Ethnic minorities

Definitions and concepts

Norwegian authorities restrict their definition of ethnic minorities to include only national minorities, immigrants and indigenous peoples. National minorities are groups that have a long-standing association with Norway. Jews, Kvens/Norwegian Finns, Roma, Romani people/Taters and the Forest Finns are included in this category. 
 
See: https://www.regjeringen.no/en/topics/indigenous-peoples-and-minorities/national-minorities/id1404/ 
 
Statistics Norway (SSB) defines immigrants as persons born abroad of two foreign-born parents and four foreign-born grandparents (SSB, 2024). ILO Convention no. 169 on Indigenous Peoples and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries, which Norway ratified in 1990, defines indigenous peoples as follows:  

peoples in independent countries who are regarded as indigenous on account of their descent from the populations which inhabited the country, or a geographical region to which the country belongs, at the time of conquest or colonisation or the establishment of present state boundaries and who, irrespective of their legal status, retain some or all of their own social, economic, cultural and political institutions.  

In Norway, the Sámi are defined as an indigenous people. 

Ethnic minorities

Research should normally never be disadvantageous to the group of people included in the study. On the contrary, it is often argued that research should, if anything, benefit the groups concerned and work to their advantage. However, we need to acknowledge that it can be difficult to define exactly what is beneficial to a certain group. For example, all members of a group may not concur on what is to their advantage. The definition of what is advantageous to or beneficial for certain groups may also involve complications with respect to the most appropriate interpretation – of the group, society, or the relationship between the two. 
 
Whenever the object of research is associated with ethnicity, it is important to seek to ensure that the terminology used cannot reasonably be perceived as offensive to anybody, and particularly not to the people included in the study. Researchers should take care never to use categorisations or terminology that may give cause for unreasonable generalisation. At the same time, it is clear that in some cases it can be exceedingly difficult, perhaps even impossible, to comply with the ideal of using correct terminology, not least if the members of the group disagree among themselves in this respect. If a group incorporates sub-groups who hold different opinions on correct or respectful terminology, or who perhaps hold different views on the criteria for group inclusion, the researcher may well be unable to find terminology that everyone is content with.  
 
Ethnic minorities may be small and/or easily recognisable groups, a state of affairs which raises ethical challenges in relation to the requirement for confidentiality in research. It is generally more demanding to process sensitive information when dealing with small populations, and it is important to be aware that a record of ethnicity may cause otherwise satisfactorily anonymised data to be more easily traced back to groups or individuals. Ethnic affiliation is also deemed a special category of personal information in a legal sense (often called sensitive information), which can be subject to special rules for treatment. With exemptions, the processing of such information is generally prohibited (see section 9 no. 2 and 3 of the Norwegian Personal Data Act).

Ethnic groups as a type of vulnerable group

Ethnic groups may be vulnerable in the sense that they may be less able than others to protect their own interests vis-à-vis researchers due to linguistic and cultural differences. If so, researchers bear a particular responsibility to safeguard each individual’s right to self-determination, and to protect them against unreasonable pressure. For example, it is important that information provided about the research project is based on familiarity with the subjects’ cultural background, and in a language which they will readily understand. This is a premise for meeting the requirement for free and informed consent. 
 
On the other hand, a wish to protect vulnerable groups may work contrary to one’s intention. Abstaining from conducting research on a given group can also be unethical, for example if this means neglecting to investigate the living conditions of a disadvantaged group. Such research may benefit a group by providing knowledge that may help improve the group’s living conditions. It may for example be useful to be able to demonstrate how various groups of immigrants fare in the labour market, in order to design relevant and effective countermeasures.

Dirty hands?

Ethnic groups may also be vulnerable because of the harm inflicted on them by previous research.This raises the question of whether today’s researchers carry joint responsibility for the unethical research carried out on ethnic groups in an earlier era. In Norway, research based on clearly racist ideas was conducted on ethnic groups from the mid-19^th to the first half of the 20^th century. Its objective was to document the hierarchical positioning of different races. In addition, the material on which this research was conducted, human remains, was obtained largely by grave robbing, with neither relatives nor the population at large being approached for permission. Is it right to hold today’s researchers responsible for the actions of earlier researchers, and if so, what does this responsibility entail?

Respect for the individual suggests that today’s researchers must proceed with great care if they conduct research on ethnic groups whose members have previously been exploited by researchers. This requires researchers to have some understanding of the history of the ethnic groups under study and to take care never to use terminology or classifications that may give cause for continued prejudice against these groups. Researchers should also adopt a well-thought-out approach to identify the group rather than, for example, uncritically promoting vague ideas about biological race under a guise of cultural ethnicity. They must also have a clear understanding of the ethical problems that may follow from such imprecision.

Identity and understanding

"Researchers should respect the self-perceptions of the research participants and avoid descriptions that may challenge their legitimate rights or promote stigmatisation." (Guidelines for Research Ethics in the Social Sciences and the Humanities, point 27). Research concerning ethnic minorities can add to the perception that individuals are seen as representatives of this one particular group, rather than as representatives of other groups or attributes. This is a problem because the identity of individuals is generally associated with multiple categories (gender, age, occupation etc.), and the greatest explanatory force does not always rest with ethnic identity. 

Moreover, by supporting the perception that a given group is a single entity rather than multiple individuals who also represent other entities, research can add to the stigmatisation of the members of the group, thereby putting them under unreasonable pressure. One such mechanism could be is that the population at large may feel they have received confirmation of certain highly generalised traits. If it is found that one in a thousand individuals in sub-population X belongs to a certain class of criminals, there will be a more or less articulate tendency to interpret this to mean that “sub-population X are criminals”, i.e. “everyone who belong to X is a criminal”. The risk of this form of irrationality is further increased if some degree of specialist cultural knowledge is required in order to understand the reported classifications. For example, this will often apply to designations that suggest religious affiliation.

Beyond the threat of downright stigmatisation, research conducted or disseminated without due deliberation can contribute to reinforcing cultural clichés in a way that is not particularly helpful. Since ethnic affiliation is often closely associated with an individual’s perception of identity, this effect does not end with the population outside the group in question. The group’s perception of itself will also partly be shaped in response to the judgement passed on them from the outside. This factor is always at work in any cultural exchange, and not always for the good.

Political relevance

Research on ethnic minorities can significantly influence policies, particularly when it comes to to social welfare and integration. For this reason, it is important that researchers exercise special care and give due consideration to the presentation of their findings, to ensure that the public can gain the best possible insight into the findings’ methods and limitations. It is also important to be aware of how the knowledge obtained can be used and abused. 

Reflections surrounding ethnicity will often leave an impression that ethnicity is a scientific entity of which individuals are merely passive recipients. It is however important for researchers to be aware that ethnic classifications, to the extent that they say something about people’s lives and the way they live them, also say a great deal about choices and identity-building. These categories may thus form a basis for solidarity and a sense of unity. The historic formation of a group as a recognised ethnic entity can rarely be traced back to a single agent, like a state or a scholarly discipline. This is also true in a political sense, in that being recognised as an independent group brings a chance otherwise not available to exert political influence and to take control of one’s own fate. For example, one implication for the Sámi of having acquired status as an indigenous population is that they are considered a people under international law and therefore have a right to self-determination.

In a political context the absence of information about ethnicity can also constitute an ethical issue in research. The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has criticised Norway for failing to present figures that show the ethnic composition of the Norwegian population. According to these allegations, the statistics compiled by Statistics Norway (SSB), the central body that compiles and disseminates official statistics in Norway, provide insufficient information about ethnicity. Thus, the Norwegian strategy is not simply about avoiding an ethical issue in research; it is a choice that can be considered problematic because it means society is unable to benefit from valuable practical information.

References

National Committee for Research Ethics in the Social Sciences and the Humanities (2023). Guidelines for Research Ethics in the Social Sciences and the Humanities. 

LOV-2018-06-15-38. Act relating to the processing of personal data (The Personal Data Act)  

Statistisk sentralbyrå (2006)."Oppfølging av anbefalinger fra FNs rasediskrimineringskomité". Brev til Arbeids- og inkluderingsdepartementet, datert 18.12.2006.  

Further reading  

Birman, Dina (2005). ”Ethical issues in Research With Immigrants and Refugees” in The Handbook of Ethical Research with Ethnocultural Populations and Communities, eds. Joseph E. Trimble and Celia B. Fisher. Sage Publications, Inc 

Forskningsetiske komiteer: Samisk forskning og forskningsetikk, publikasjon nr. 2/2002 

Kyllingstad, Jon R. (2023). Rase. En vitenskapshistorie. Cappelen Damm. 

Sannhets- og forsoningskommisjonen (2023). Sannhet og forsoning – grunnlag for et oppgjør med fornorskingspolitikk og urett mot samer, kvener/norskfinner og skogfinner. Rapport til Stortinget fra Sannhets- og forsoningskommisjonen. Dokument 19 (2022–2023).  

Thorseth, May (2002). ”Etiske perspektiver på forskning om innvandrere.” Norsk tidsskrift for migrasjonsforskning. Bergen: Fagbokforlaget. Nr 1, s. 38-51 

See also this article in Magasinet Forskningsetikk: 
Human skulls from Thor Heyerdahl expedition cause controversy

This article has been translated from Norwegian by Hege Hernæs, Akasie språktjenester AS. Updates translated by Samtext AS.