<p>Considering the ethical safeguards present in research is an imperative that represents a guarantee of quality linked to the rigor, reliability, credibility and consistency offered to each participant and to society. We explored the ethical safeguards detected by ten psychologists dedicated to qualitative research from university teaching. The results allow categorizing them in three stages of the research process, planning, execution and evaluation, and indicate the need to develop a critical reflexivity that must be deployed in each of these phases. It is concluded that qualitative research in psychology has a manifest social commitment that demands a debate on academic practices and that the ethical position of those who do research must be committed to the scientific field as well as to the participants, as a form of reciprocity.</p>