ABSTRACT
The role of this chapter is to present a framework for conceptualising the dangers
which qualitative researchers must negotiate in their work. The framework identifies
four key areas of danger: physical, emotional, ethical and professional. These are
illustrated in the chapters that follow. This scheme of dangers can be seen to have an
ideal-type quality, as it simplifies and separates out experiences of serious danger. It is
important to note that, although, for ease of discussion, we deal in this chapter with
each form of danger in a distinct manner, in the contributions the interconnectedness
of research risks is highlighted. We seek to demonstrate the robustness of this
framework as a device for categorising the experience of danger and risk in research.
