Demery, A.C., Pipkin, M.A. Safe fieldwork strategies for at-risk individuals, their supervisors and institutions. Nat Ecol Evol (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-020-01328-5
Demery, A.C., Pipkin, M.A. Safe fieldwork strategies for at-risk individuals, their supervisors and institutions. Nat Ecol Evol (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-020-01328-5
Demery, A.C., Pipkin, M.A. Safe fieldwork strategies for at-risk individuals, their supervisors and institutions. Nat Ecol Evol (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-020-01328-5
Demery, A.C., Pipkin, M.A. Safe fieldwork strategies for at-risk individuals, their supervisors and institutions. Nat Ecol Evol (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-020-01328-5
Abstract
As a result of identity prejudice, certain individuals are at higher risk for conflict and violence when they are in the field. At-risk individuals include minority identities of the following: race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, gender identity, and/or religion. Everyone deserves to conduct fieldwork as safely as possible; therefore, it is paramount for anyone conducting fieldwork to be informed of the increased risk certain populations face when conducting field research and to define informed strategies. Research groups should adhere to best practices to minimize risk for all individuals who go into the field. Here we provide strategies that 1) acknowledge that some individuals encounter dangerous situations in the field due to their identity(ies), and 2) minimize the chance of conflict between and among researchers and other communities present at field sites. The inclusion of this document as a key resource in a research lab, a university department, or any active research or work environment sends a positive signal to at-risk individuals that their professional community acknowledges their risk and is willing to implement actions to ensure their safety. We suggest that this document be made freely availableto anyone who is directly or indirectly involved in fieldwork. Supervisors who support the information in this document should publicly commit to promote a diverse and inclusive environment in order to maintain the safety of their researchers.
Keywords
diversity; inclusion; equity; fieldwork; research
Subject
Social Sciences, Safety Research
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Received:
2 September 2020
Commenter:
José marçal jackson filho
The commenter has declared there is no conflict of interests.
Comment:
Dear Ms Demery and Pipkin,
I think your concern of upmost importance and, at the same time,proposing guidelines related to the safety of researchers in the field is very original.
Would you consider submitting your paper to the journal, I am the editor-in-chief? It is called Brazilian Journal of Occupational Health.
If you are interested, just let me know.
Very cordially,
José Marçal Jackson Filho
jose.jackson@fundacentro.gov.br
Received:
3 September 2020
Commenter:
Linda Campbell
The commenter has declared there is no conflict of interests.
Comment:
Hello Amelia-Juliette Demery and Monique Pipkin
Thank you so much for doing this important work and sharing your strategies as well as those of others. I noticed in the abstract that scientists with disabilities and who are Deaf were not mentioned -- they are just as much at risk as other scientists with at-risk identities.
Would you consider adding sections on strategies for scientists with disabilities doing field work? I'd be happy to answer questions and share some contacts with people who can provide expert input.
Commenter: José marçal jackson filho
The commenter has declared there is no conflict of interests.
I think your concern of upmost importance and, at the same time,proposing guidelines related to the safety of researchers in the field is very original.
Would you consider submitting your paper to the journal, I am the editor-in-chief? It is called Brazilian Journal of Occupational Health.
If you are interested, just let me know.
Very cordially,
José Marçal Jackson Filho
jose.jackson@fundacentro.gov.br
Commenter: Jon-Andri Lys
The commenter has declared there is no conflict of interests.
See: https://naturwissenschaften.ch/organisations/kfpe/csresearch
kind regards
Jon-Andri
Commenter: Linda Campbell
The commenter has declared there is no conflict of interests.
Thank you so much for doing this important work and sharing your strategies as well as those of others. I noticed in the abstract that scientists with disabilities and who are Deaf were not mentioned -- they are just as much at risk as other scientists with at-risk identities.
Would you consider adding sections on strategies for scientists with disabilities doing field work? I'd be happy to answer questions and share some contacts with people who can provide expert input.
Linda Campbell