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Key points
- Human-centred design guides innovative solutions to complex and sensitive issues.
- Researching sensitive topics may surface strong emotions and reactions in both researchers and participants.
- Self-empathy as a skill guides a researcher to navigate triggers and tricky moments in interviews.
As the demand for innovative solutions to complex and sensitive issues continues to grow, design thinking and human-centred design are becoming increasingly vital. Design methodologies focus on identifying deeper needs to craft effective solutions. This begins with initial research aimed at gathering insights to guide the design process. Unfortunately, deeper needs don’t come neatly packaged and easily accessible. Understanding these deeper needs requires more than just data collection—it demands empathy. And effectively empathising requires researchers to be equipped.
Depending on the issues, a researcher may need to research delicate situations. Investigating sensitive topics or working with individuals who have had challenging and sometimes traumatic experiences takes advanced empathy skills.
On the one hand, researchers must create a trusting environment where participants feel safe sharing their experiences. On the other hand, when the participant does confide, researchers may need to listen to and respectfully hold content that can be unsettling to themselves.
This post explores the challenges of empathic research in sensitive contexts and offers strategies for researchers to navigate these challenges effectively.
Challenges in Sensitive Research
The inherent nature of sensitive topics is that they are difficult to talk about. They surface strong emotions and potential reactions in both researcher and participant. For example, a health-related project in Africa highlighted the stark contrast between the resources and living conditions of interviewers and interviewees. Interviewers often felt guilt over their privileges, while interviewees viewed them as potential "saviours" able to rescue them from their dire circumstances. In another project, researchers found descriptions of trauma and abuse to be heartbreaking, devastating, and too hard to accept.
These examples highlight that triggers can arise in both the interviewer and the interviewee, posing stagnating challenges. When this happens, researchers need to make decisions to ensure the interview progresses productively while safeguarding the well-being of all involved.
What Can Researchers Do?
If you want to know where to draw the line as a researcher between what you can handle with interviewees and when you need to call in external help, you need to know your own mind and triggers first. Self-empathy is therefore crucial. By understanding your own triggers, setting ethical boundaries, and setting guidelines for when to seek external help, you can enter your interviews with greater confidence and composure, irrespective of the trauma that might come up. It’s essential to reflect on ethical responsibilities and develop a set of guidelines with the design team to navigate these challenges effectively (perhaps some "rules" on which type of situation needs to be referred to professionals/NGOs/counselors, etc. immediately).
At the same time, listening to numerous traumatic stories can also impact you personally, potentially leading to emotional numbness and affecting your interpretation of research results. Having self-empathy as a skillset can help slow down that process and might even prevent it from happening at all.
Empathy Starts With Self-Empathy
All empathy starts with self-empathy. To genuinely care for, and understand, your participants, you need to be empathic. But if you don’t have self-empathy, practising empathy with others is often a very messy mix of emotions and impressions. To deliver the care you want to deliver and gather insightful data, it helps to make sense of that mix.
Here are questions to help you prepare for sensitive research:
Identifying Triggers and Challenges
- What specific challenging situations do you encounter in your research?
- What does that trigger or challenge in you?
- How can you recognize when you or your participant are experiencing a trigger?
- How do these triggers affect your ability to conduct research?
Handling Your Triggers
- What do you do to manage your triggers during research?
- How effective are these strategies, and how can they be improved?
Deciding When to Retreat
- What signs indicate that you need to take a step back from the research?
- What actions should you take when you decide to retreat?
Seeking Specialised Help for Participants
- How do you determine when a participant needs specialised help?
- What are the steps for referring a participant to external support?
Establishing Common Guidelines
- What common "rules" do you have in place for helping participants?
- How can you ensure these guidelines are followed consistently?
Handling Traumatic Stories
- What methods do you use to listen to and process traumatic stories?
- How do you take care of your emotional well-being after hearing such stories?
By considering these questions, researchers can better prepare themselves for the emotional challenges of empathic research on sensitive topics, ensuring both their well-being as well as the well-being of their participants and the integrity of their work.
