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Paper short abstract:

It is commonplace for researchers to undertake research in turbulent contexts where they may frequently encounter challenges and dilemmas in terms of risk and data security. So, how should researchers prepare to minimise risk both on and off-line? How can universities best support them?

Paper long abstract:

Universities prepare PhD students for becoming excellent researchers, covering topics such as methods, theory, and ethics. Nevertheless, when it comes to the risks that researchers have to overcome as part of their projects, Universities often fall short. This is particularly the case in development studies research where Universities based in the global north often have little understanding of the risks and dilemmas that researchers may face in their fieldwork. While official risk assessment procedures often serve as little more than a tick-box exercise, researchers are often left on their own to face some of the most pressing and risky dilemmas of research.

Some of the questions we feel Universities are currently ill-equipped to help researchers navigate include: What types of trade-offs exist, if any, between getting high quality data and minimising risk? Do university procedures ever increase the risks that researchers face in the field? Do on-line profiles help protect or make researchers and participants more vulnerable?

We explore these questions and key themes in relation to our own fieldwork in Morocco (Medland) and Colombia (Pinto Campo). We also draw on further exploration of these issues from a workshop at the University of Bristol (to be held June 2017). Reflecting on the un-met risk-related dilemmas that (particularly PhD) researchers often find themselves facing alone, we look at how researchers can better break a routine of research in isolation. Finally, we reflect on how Universities could better make spaces of support for the kind of challenging research that they encourage.