Soc. Sci. 2017, 6(4), 130; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci6040130
Risk for Researchers Studying Social Deviance or Criminal Behavior
Patricia L. Brougham 1,*
and Clarissa M. Uttley 2
and Clarissa M. Uttley 21
Department of Criminal Justice, University of Pittsburgh, Bradford, PA 16701, USA
2
Department of Educational Leadership, Learning, and Curriculum, Plymouth State University, Plymouth, NH 03264, USA
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 20 September 2017 / Revised: 23 October 2017 / Accepted: 27 October 2017 / Published: 28 October 2017
Abstract
Abstract: Researchers often encounter dangerous situations while conducting social research. The concept of risk to researchers refers to the possible harm that may occur to researchers while in the field or after leaving a research project. This study explores issues experienced by social scientists engaged in research on social deviance or criminal behavior. The goal of this research was to discover the types of risk experienced by social scientists and any mediating factors affecting the experience of risk. An online survey was conducted to gather data on issues experienced by social scientists. This study found that researchers experienced a variety of risks within the categories of physical/health, emotional, legal, and personal/professional. Each of the survey options for risk were reported by at least one respondent; however, the greatest number of risks reported were of an emotional or personal/professional nature. There were no mediating factors found to be significant in relation to the experience of risk. This was a surprising finding especially for the variable of gender as it is suggested that gender plays a role in the experience of difficulties. View Full-TextKeywords:
risk; danger; researcher; fieldwork
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited (CC BY 4.0).
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Brougham, P.L.; Uttley, C.M. Risk for Researchers Studying Social Deviance or Criminal Behavior. Soc. Sci. 2017, 6, 130.
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