TY - JOUR

T1 - ‘Being affected’

T2 - The epistemic value of vulnerability in fieldwork

AU - Minatti, Wolfgang

AU - Gass-Quintero, Frédéric Guillaume

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2025.

PY - 2025

Y1 - 2025

N2 - As ethics of fieldwork gain prominence, discussions in qualitative methods have increasingly focused on the relationship between vulnerability and fieldwork practices. Existing literature provides ethical prescriptions and safety recommendations for fieldworkers in ‘dangerous places’. However, it falls short of addressing the analytic stakes created by experiences of vulnerability in the field. This is problematic because it limits the fieldworker's reflexivity, preventing them from examining unsettling situations as relevant data. To address this, the article builds on an understanding of vulnerability as a type of situation. We argue that fieldworkers gain an analytic advantage by reflecting on experiences shaped by situations of vulnerability, offering insights into the social context under investigation and the researcher's position in it. The article demonstrates the epistemic value of vulnerability by drawing on fieldwork on the Colombian conflict and peace process.

AB - As ethics of fieldwork gain prominence, discussions in qualitative methods have increasingly focused on the relationship between vulnerability and fieldwork practices. Existing literature provides ethical prescriptions and safety recommendations for fieldworkers in ‘dangerous places’. However, it falls short of addressing the analytic stakes created by experiences of vulnerability in the field. This is problematic because it limits the fieldworker's reflexivity, preventing them from examining unsettling situations as relevant data. To address this, the article builds on an understanding of vulnerability as a type of situation. We argue that fieldworkers gain an analytic advantage by reflecting on experiences shaped by situations of vulnerability, offering insights into the social context under investigation and the researcher's position in it. The article demonstrates the epistemic value of vulnerability by drawing on fieldwork on the Colombian conflict and peace process.

KW - Colombia

KW - epistemic value

KW - ethics

KW - ethnography

KW - fieldwork

KW - methodology

KW - qualitative research

KW - reflexivity

KW - safety

KW - Vulnerability

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85217169769&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1177/14687941241308712

DO - 10.1177/14687941241308712

M3 - Journal articles

AN - SCOPUS:85217169769

JO - Qualitative Research

JF - Qualitative Research

SN - 1468-7941

ER -