It is a major responsibility of folklorists to anticipate these and to plan to resolve them in such a way as to do least damage to those whom they work and their scholarly community. When there is a conflict of interest, these individuals must come first. Folklorists must do everything in their power to protect the physical, social, and psychological welfare of their informants and to honor the dignity and privacy of those studied. Where research involves the acquisition of materials and information transferred on the assumption of trust between persons, the rights, interests, and sensitivities of those studied must be safeguarded. The aims of the investigation should be communicated as is possible to the informant.
Informants have the right to remain anonymous.
The right should be respected both where it has been promised explicitly and, as much as possible, where no clear understanding to the contrary has been reached. These strictures apply to the collection of data by means of cameras, tape recorders, and other data-collecting devises, as well as to data collected in interviews. There shall be no exploitation of individual informants for personal gain. Fair return should be given them for all services. There is an obligation to reflect on the foreseeable repercussions of research and publication on the general population being studied.