SAFEResearch

About the Project

In recent years, conducting field research became an increasingly risky endeavor, particularly in states or regions characterized by violent conflict, repressive political regimes, or state failure. Working under such conditions or with marginalized communities facing similar circumstances was highly challenging. Researchers had to protect themselves and those with whom they worked. They needed to ensure the physical safety of their respondents and consider whether and how confidentiality could be maintained. High-profile cases—such as that of Italian PhD researcher Giulio Regeni, who was found tortured to death on a roadside in Egypt, or Princeton graduate student Xiyue Wang, imprisoned in Iran—were horrendous examples. These cases represented only the tip of the iceberg.

Despite the increasing challenges faced by scholars across various disciplines, guidance on how to prepare for and conduct safe research was not readily available. As Ahram and Goode observed, methodological texts in political science did not provide a formula for “best practices” for research in authoritarian settings. Instead, such knowledge was often gained through an informal apprenticeship among researchers. This project brought together scholars in a series of workshops and professional Hostile Environment and Emergency First Aid Trainings (HEFAT) to discuss security issues related to the social sciences and to prepare material aimed at helping other researchers conduct research safely in increasingly challenging environments.

The SAFEResearch project resulted in the handbook Safer Field Research in the Social Sciences. The handbook described the types of challenges researchers faced in the field and provided a set of best practices and tools for safer fieldwork. It was a collaborative effort written by researchers, journalists, and NGO workers from around the world. Covering the stages of typical research processes in the social sciences—from research preparations to safety during research and post-research debriefing—the handbook outlined ways to improve the physical safety of researchers and subjects while preserving the confidentiality of data and communication in politically sensitive settings. Drawing on the experiences of scholars, journalists, data activists, and human rights practitioners, the handbook addressed both human and digital security and offered practical suggestions for conducting research in difficult environments.

SAFEResearch Handbook

Exploring the challenges and risks of social science fieldwork, this book shares best practice for conducting research in hostile environments and pragmatic advice to help you make good decisions.

Drawing on the authors’ experiences in regions of conflict and grounded in real-world examples, the book:

• Provides practical guidance on important considerations like choosing a research question in sensitive contexts.
• Gives advice on data and digital security to help you minimize fieldwork risk in a contemporary research environment.
• Offers tools and templates you can use to develop a tailored security framework.

Building your understanding of the challenges of on-the-ground research, this book empowers you to meet the challenges of your research landscape head on.

More about the Safer Research Book

Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung (WZB) Talk by Ilyas Saliba and Jannis Grimm: Safer Field Research in the Social Sciences: a Guidebook for Fieldwork Protection and Digital Security. Listen here.

Presentation of the Handbook by Jannis Grimm, Kevin Koehler, Ellen Lust, Ilyas Saliba, and Isabell Schierenbeck. 

Project Coordinators

• Jannis Grimm, Freie Universität Berlin
• Kevin Koehler, King's College London
• Ellen Lust, Cornell University and University of Gothenburg
• Ilyas Saliba, WZB Berlin Social Science Center
• Isabell Schierenbeck, University of Gothenburg