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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 [log in to unmask] Prof. Kate Sang Professor, Heriot-Watt University [log in to unmask] Mette Sommer Lindsay PhD student, Heriot-Watt University [log in to unmask] 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. ######################################################################## To unsubscribe from the MECCSA-WMSN list, click the following link: https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?SUBED1=MECCSA-WMSN&A=1