Trauma experienced by researchers: challenges and recommendations to support students and junior scholars

Abstract

PurposeSpecifically, the authors discuss three challenges that researchers—especially graduate students—often face: (1) access to adequate material and guidance for researchers; (2) the internal and external strains researchers may face, and (3) the limited conceptualization of research on sensitive topics or vulnerable populations. Although these three challenges may be present for many graduate students and junior scholars, it is important to acknowledge that scholars face many challenges beyond the ones discussed in this note.Design/methodology/approachThis note will specifically address challenges that arise for graduate students and junior scholars, and we suggest possible strategies to navigate this type of research.FindingsThe authors encourage comprehensive approaches taken by institutions, enacted via advocacy from the field. Professional organizations can create a valuable, ongoing forum for such discussions by including the topic of researcher trauma within workshops, discussion sessions, conference tracks, journals, and newsletters. Second, the topic of researcher trauma must be introduced early and often in graduate training, including planned meaningful coverage in methodology courses, textbooks, and professional training. Third, researchers at all levels should carefully reflect on how their own line of inquiry and their routine research practices could impart trauma.Originality/valueWhile ethical principles center on protecting human research participants, risks of trauma experienced by researchers are not consistently addressed in the context of methodological training or human-subjects internal review board and ethics committees' consideration. Although many researchers engage in work that can cause the researcher trauma, few studies address the experiences of researchers in depth, especially the experiences of graduate students or junior scholars.

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“…The risks faced by researchers is an area that has not received a lot of attention by researchers and ethical review boards. 31 The following are emerging safeguarding questions to be considered: Are there places where studies should not be carried out due to physical and psychological risks to researchers? Is counselling enough when risks occur?…”

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“…Eliasson and DeHart (2022) provide a research note that specifically tackles the topic of trauma experienced during the research journey by junior researchers and students. They focus on three common challenges in trauma research: access to adequate materials and guidance by the researcher, internal and external constraints, and the limited conceptualisation of sensitive or vulnerable research.…”

“…She presents and adapts tips, safety protocols and steps for undertaking "trauma-informed research practice" and thus provides a valuable toolkit for qualitative researchers who decide to investigate trauma or are unexpectedly confronted with trauma during their research. Eliasson and DeHart (2022) provide a research note that specifically tackles the topic of trauma experienced during the research journey by junior researchers and students. They focus on three common challenges in trauma research: access to adequate materials and guidance by the researcher, internal and external constraints, and the limited conceptualisation of sensitive or vulnerable research.…”

That’s Gonna Leave a Mark: Positionality and Secondary Trauma in Researching Mass Killing and Genocide

“…There is growing awareness in the social sciences that researching traumatic subject matter, or “sensitive subjects,” can cause secondary traumatic stress—a type of emotional reaction to trauma that in itself causes trauma—in those who undertake such projects (see, e.g., Dominey-Howes 2015; Eliasson and DeHart 2022; Erickson 2017; Fenge et al 2019; Loyle and Simoni 2017). In this article, I examine the interaction of my positionality and differing types of exposure to traumatic events in order to understand why there was such a disparity in the ways that I was affected in similar circumstances.…”

“…With emerging scholarship in the social sciences about the negative aspects of conducting traumatic research, a discussion is currently underway about methods of mitigating the potential harm caused by secondary exposure to traumatic events (Eliasson and DeHart 2022; Williamson et al 2020). Many of the proposed solutions to the lack of any sort of ethical or even pragmatic framework focus on some modification of existing Institutional Review Board (IRB) forms, to include sections requiring primary investigators to identify specific measures they have taken to protect themselves from psychological damage.…”