ABSTRACT
The previous chapter covered issues around protecting participants. Researcher safety and well-being are equally important, but tend to get far less coverage in academic literature and training. This chapter will cover the well-being of researchers, addressing:
Where’s the risk? Evidence shows that people working with the public are at risk (Kidd & Stark, 1992; Owen, 1992; Wyatt & Watt, 1995), and although guidelines exist for those working in different communities (Kendra & George, 2001; Nadwairski, 1992; Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1998), there is little formal guidance for health and social scientists. True, “health and safety” is covered in workplace guidance, but it tends to focus more on dangerous substances or equipment than risks to researchers from people or places (see for example p. 13 of the 2001 Department of Health Research Governance Framework). Clear guidelines for social science researchers are currently notable by their absence (Williams, Dunlap, Johnson, & Hamid, 1992). Risks to researchers vary in severity, but can (and do) include physical assault, theft, verbal abuse, and emotional distress (Nadwairski, 1992; Williams et al., 1992). The guides that exist on researcher safety (Paterson, Gregory, & Thorne, 1999) tend to be aimed at researchers working in highly dangerous environments (Broadhead, 2001; Williams et al., 1992). These studies can provide useful a useful background, but this chapter goes further by offering guidance to researchers working in
community settings, or places (such as universities) assumed to be “safe” (Wood, 1999).
