Hello,
Submissions are now open to contribute to the EDI Conference (22-24 July, Rotterdam). Please consider submitting to Stream 10: 'Doing the heavy
lifting: The emotional labour of undertaking research into sensitive topics'
https://www.edi-conference.org/streams.php
(and more info below).
Submissions to the conference can be in the form of an abstract (min. 250-300 words) by the deadline of April 26th, 2019.
All submissions will be subjected to peer review organized by stream
chairs with two referees for each paper. Deadline for reviews:
May 17th, 2019 (acceptance/rejection).
Best paper nominations and submission of best papers to the relevant associated journal (as agreed by submitter):
July 8th, 2019.
Doing the heavy lifting: The emotional labour of undertaking research into sensitive topics
Dr Rebecca Finkel
Reader, Queen Margaret University
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Prof. Kate Sang
Professor, Heriot-Watt University
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Mette Sommer Lindsay
PhD student, Heriot-Watt University
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The role of the researcher is often debated, with a recognition in much
social justice research that the researcher is not a dispassionate
observer of socially interesting phenomena. Alongside these
philosophical concerns of research, many universities have
developed sophisticated (and sometimes onerous) research ethics
procedures whereby the researcher must demonstrate their awareness of
the potential negative impacts for participants, particularly those who
are considered vulnerable. However, the wellbeing
of the researcher is often neglected in these academic and practice
orientated debates. This stream explores the experiential and emotional
dimensions of conducting research and wider cultural and social aspects
that can have an impact on the wellbeing of
the researcher. This may take the form of gendered and biased
encounters during data collection. Often, less mainstream approaches,
such as feminism, critical race theory, and post-humanism, can create
tensions and be met with resistance - and even hostility
- during research. This stream takes into account the physical and
mental risks of researching in marginalised areas, in vulnerable
situations, and in emotional encounters.
Despite an increased awareness of the emotional nature of social
sciences research processes, there is still a paucity of recognition of
the emotional labour of the researcher, particularly sensitive research
and/or research with marginalised communities. This
stream seeks to go some way to address this by focusing on the
multifarious experiences of researchers and the resistance and
confrontations they endure in order to further knowledge in their
fields.
In this stream, we welcome contributions which explore feminist,
gendered, sexualised, racialised, and other biased experiences of the
researcher as well as experiences involving emotional labour when
undertaking sensitive research and/or research with vulnerable
populations. Submissions may address (but are not limited to) the
following questions:
- What risks do researchers encounter when undertaking research into sensitive topics?
- How can researchers cope with the emotional labour of social and cultural research processes?
- What
influence, if any, does gender, disability, linguistic diversity,
ethnicity, sexuality, age, and other socio-demographics have on the way
the researcher is perceived during data collection?
- How can researchers protect themselves as well as vulnerable participants during research?
- How can researcher-participant relationships be supported during data collection and also after the research has ended?
- What duty of care do universities have to support researchers?
- What are the ethical implications for the researcher that need to be considered along with those for the participants?
- In what ways does the current hegemonic societal structure have an impact on how the researcher can conduct research?
Ethnographic/auto-ethnographic, visual, interpretative as well as
other creative and experimental qualitative approaches are encouraged.