Why Field Work?
Field research is required for some research projects and is often exciting, as it allows researchers to travel, be outside, and observe their study systems in nature. However, field research also involves a certain amount of risk. Potentially harsh conditions, unfamiliar locations, interpersonal conflicts with research team members, and contact with unfamiliar landowners or property managers can lead to situations in which the health and safety of researchers may be jeopardized. The purpose of this document is three-fold:
- To highlight actions and resources to increase safety by minimizing potential risks;
- To outline appropriate responses should adverse events occur; and
- To identify inequities in field research and solutions to improve access for researchers of all identities.
The risks associated with field research are not equal for everyone (Demery and Pipkin 2020) and pose a barrier to equitable participation in field research. Some scientists may experience increased risks due to their race, ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, disability, gender identity, or religion. Black, Hispanic, Latinx, and Indigenous scientists often report feeling threatened and unwelcome when conducting research in the field and frequently face increased risk from local law enforcement (Demery and Pipkin 2020, Chaudhury and Colla 2020). Scientists who identify as sexual or gender minorities may also encounter unwelcoming or dangerous environments at home or abroad (Booms 2019), especially when field research occurs in countries where certain sexual orientations or gender identities are illegal (Ragen 2017, Pickrell 2020, Olcott and Downen 2020, Viglione 2020). Sexual harassment during field research is more commonly reported by women than men and by early-career researchers than senior researchers (Clancy et al. 2014). Additionally, people with disabilities are one of the largest marginalized groups, with roughly one in four people identifying as living with a disability (CDC 2018). People with disabilities share many of the aforementioned heightened risks with other marginalized groups, and may require additional accommodations to reduce risk and create equitable access to participating in field research (Hall et al. 2002, Thurston et al. 2017, Chiarella and Vurro 2020).
The best way to reduce and mitigate potential risks during field research, as well as to provide equitable access to field research opportunities, is to foster awareness and leadership within research teams. Supervisors need to work with research leaders and team members, and university safety resources (such as EHS and department staff) to prepare for safe field research by understanding and addressing inequities and mitigating foreseeable risks. All research team members should be involved in planning and training and all team members should be aware that safety is as important as data collection during field research.
Supervisors should work in tandem with research teams to develop field plans and strategies to mitigate risks and increase access (Demery and Pipkin 2020). Supervisors should be aware that their own identity and experiences with field research may limit their ability to assess the extent of risk or access for marginalized team members. Additionally, because of societal inequities and variation in abilities among team members, some team members may require more resources than other team members to fully participate in field research; supervisors should remember achieving equity among team members is unlikely to arise when resources are merely distributed equally between team members.
Within this document we designate certain responsibilities to either ‘research supervisors’, ‘team leaders’, or ‘team members’. Research supervisors are generally the Principal Investigators (PIs) of a project, and will typically be a faculty member in the department; research supervisors may or may not be in the field during all portions of field data collection. Team leaders are those individuals who are the designated leader during field research and may be at any career or training stage including post-docs, graduate students, undergraduates, or field technicians. ‘Team members’ are field researchers who work under the guidance of the team leader, regardless of career or training stage. The actual composition of field teams will vary depending on the project and specifics of the field research, but supervisors should designate these positions prior to beginning any field research.
We have organized this manual into seven core topics. The first three sections discuss field safety and accommodations for people involved in field research:
The next three sections deal with mitigating risk and increasing access to the places we conduct field research:
The final section:
outlines actions to take after the field team is safely home.
Within each section, we first outline important considerations for marginalized scientists and for health and disability, and then provide action items structured for either “before you go” to the field or while “in the field”
A downloadable PDF copy of the manual can be found at PSU Field Work Safety Manual.