Addressing Ethical Challenges in Refugee Based Research

In recent years, there has been a sustained increase in the number of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs). Currently an estimated 35 million ‘persons of concern' fall under the mandate of the United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Forced migration results in disrupted community and social networks, contests over limited resources, multiple public health risks, and heightened instances of human rights abuses, including sexual and gender-based violence. These factors, and the associated vulnerability and marginalization of displaced populations, highlight the need for knowledge and understanding of refugee and IDP populations. This has led to a considerable rise in research on and among these groups, which is invariably undertaken in complex, difficult, and sometimes dangerous settings. This can place refugees at great risk of exploitative and damaging research practices, however unintended this might be. Despite gaining theoretical knowledge in the classroom, researchers are mainly inexperienced in the application of knowledge to fieldwork with refugees. While the ethics of academic research involving human subjects has long been a concern for universities and researchers, it is now becoming recognized that the ethics of research with vulnerable populations needs to be readdressed in the light of the challenges posed by research among refugees and IDPs. This roundtable session will begin with a dialogue on challenges facing by researchers in the field especially those working to integrate community participatory methods into refugee based research. Presenters will focus particular attention with incidents and discussions the presenters have had with refugee research partners they have worked with over the past twelve years, and explores how the presenters have tried to address the challenges posed to them. The first presenter will discuss the development of a specific participatory action research approach designed to fulfil the aim of undertaking advocacy-focused research grounded in human rights and community participation. The second presenter will describe Rowson's (2010) FAIR framework—Fairness, Autonomy, Integrity and Results—provided a flexible structure to prioritize ethical challenges and assume accountability for the research process and outcome. The presenters will also highlight the ethical guidelines while addressing intergenerational conflict within families. This roundtable will provide an opportunity for open discussion with attendees to share their personal perspectives to instill a community grounded, mutually respectful research practices with creativity, flexibility and common sense that is ideal for conducting refugee research.