Field Research in Africa: The Ethics of Researcher Vulnerabilities

by An Ansoms, Aymar Nyenyezi Bisoka, and Susan Thomson

An Ansoms (Editor), Aymar Nyenyezi Bisoka (Editor), Susan Thomson (Editor), Elisio Macamo, Gino Vlavonou, Emery Mushagalusa Mudinga, Ghaliya Djelloul, and Rosette Sifa Vuninga

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An essential exploration of and guide to research ethics in the field.



Researchers working in Africa are engaged in ethical, methodological, logistical, emotional and professional compromises. Juggling the demands of being a researcher and being human, scholars must balance the recording of data withthe emotional demands of listening, of analyzing and reporting personal, and often contradictory, narratives. This book recognizes these challenges and lays bare the underlying and important process by which the researcher grapples with emotions, and how 'feelings' inform and shape data collection, interpretation, write-up and dissemination. Based on widely researched on-the-ground work, the contributors reveal the ambiguities and inconsistences that emerge at all stages of fieldwork and how to tackle them. They examine the ethical quagmires that arise when doing research on sensitive topics in a researcher's own living environment, and suggest how to manage the complex interaction between the researcher's own identity and social relationships in the field, and navigate the role of researcher when activism risks access to the field.
  • ISBN10 1847012698
  • ISBN13 9781847012692
  • Publish Date 18 June 2021
  • Publish Status Active
  • Publish Country GB
  • Imprint James Currey
  • Format Paperback (US Trade)
  • Pages 192
  • Language English