Limitless research: when the impact of data collection forces you to recognize and protect your limits

• In Event: Researcher Wellbeing and Emotionally Challenging Topics

Abstract

“As a criminologist you have to be able to deal with these kinds of things”, “How were you dressed?”, “Why are you doing this research if it hits you so hard?” … These are just a few of the many comments I received during my research on gender and gangs, violence, migration and (post-) incarceration, and why I preferred to keep my experiences in the field to myself. However, denying or attempting to suppress one's own emotions during research and fieldwork stands in sharp contrast to feminist methodologies. Feminist criminology and other feminist social sciences not only point to the importance of an empathic relationship (‘empathic stance’) with the people involved in our research, but also to the fact that (certain) research themes do not leave the researcher untouched or unaffected. Within my experience as an early career female academic, researchers often do not dare to go public with problems they experience in the field. Extensive research has been published in the last two decades on sexual violence (Kloß, 2017; Mügge, 2013), mental/emotional problems (Hume, 2007; Woon, 2013) and trauma (Markowitz, 2019; Robinson & Ryder, 2014) during research. Researchers often keep these experiences to themselves for fear of being seen as “too weak” or “not cut out for this type of research” (Ross, 2014). In this paper, I discuss three themes: first, recognizing different forms of problems and cross-border experiences during research. Secondly, discovering and setting boundaries in research areas that are often not clearly defined. Third, the prevention of (secondary) trauma, through a personalized plan of action.

Author

• Ellen Van Damme, Centre de Recherches en Droit Pénal (CRDP), Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium.