‘The old adage that ‘if it’s not written down, it didn’t happen’
has held little relevance for my research, when keeping detailed notes
of my interviews could often have jeopardised the lives of myself and my
informants. Field notes, however, codified or locked in electronic
documentation, contain sensitive information that could be used against
the anthropologist or informants’.
It has been seen that researchers may find themselves unable to
implement codes of ethics to the letter in post-war zones due to
associated risks. This should not be interpreted as unethical research.
The codes of ethics are situational and there is a need for a localised,
contextual and situational approach to ethics when it comes to managing
risks in post-war zones, in order to assure researcher safety, which
takes precedence. The emotional risks have received little attention in
the research process when compared with physical risks, although they
form an element of the research process. There is also the possibility
of emotional harm emerging after a dormant period and this may occur
after the period of fieldwork. This needs to be recognised at an early
stage of risk management planning. Further, the institutional apparatus
should not assign sole responsibility to individual researchers and
supervisory teams to manage risks on their own and should take an active
role in managing risks in post-war zones. For this purpose, safety
training and awareness-raising for researchers as well as personnel at
an institutional level, such as supervisors, are encouraged.
This paper has discussed only two dimensions of risk: physical risks and
emotional risks that are faced by researchers in post-war zones,
however, there is a need to recognise the presence of other dimensions.
Gender dynamics have not been discussed here separately, but the nature
of risks could vary by gender. This needs to be accounted for when
analysing risks and needs to be addressed in-depth to develop a
comprehensive risk management plan. Furthermore, the post-fieldwork
stage risk management should be recognised, to assure the long-term
wellbeing of researchers. There are many stakeholders involved in a
typical research project such as funders and suppliers, as well as
respondents who face varied risks to a different degree, which the
authors of this article acknowledge.