When a ‘social worker’ is NOT a social worker: reflections of the ethical tensions that emerge when Imposter Participants present as social workers

This ethics in practice article reflects on the ethical dilemmas and tensions that emerged from a research study employing online interviews with social workers in the context of (i) how to respond to suspected Imposter Participants; (ii) whether to report individuals for fraudulently posing as social workers; (iii) how to better screen for Imposter Participants whilst minimising the chance of excluding genuine participants; and (iv) whether to reimburse suspected Imposter Participants for their time. The article also makes recommendations for researchers seeking to recruit a similar participant demographic by way of a ‘what we would do differently next time’ section.