Ethical issues in communicating with participants

Communication is imbued with attitudes toward the addresses and conscious or unconscious conceptions about the relationships with them. Sensitivity for ethical conflicts as well as "handling" them largely depend on how the "subjects" "used" in research are perceived as well as on the relationships with them. Riegel (1979) as well as Baumrind (1980) have criticized the use of the term "subjects", and they proposed, among others, to replace it by the term "participant" since this concept implies the view of a person who has freely chosen an active role in the process of research. The question is whether we are aware of the kind of contribution participants make. I would like to suggest a perspective that I feel is appropriate ethical problems in research.