Balancing Research and Ethics in Political Science
Zvobgo is currently pursuing her PhD at the University of Southern California, where she has focused her research on transitional justice. Her goal is to study the history and legacy of tragedy so that the global community can acknowledge the past in an accurate way and come up with solutions for future human rights issues.
Born in Zimbabwe, Zvobgo touched on how researching areas that had been struck by tragedy from the US reminded her what a privilege it is to be removed from the issues. Whenever political scientists work on site, they always have the privilege of being able to leave the area. In an area of post-violence, “even breathing is political” says Professor Pickering. Individuals must be vigilant, even more so if they participate in research, and that is something all researchers must be aware of.
Much of the panel focused on different tradeoffs of doing research in vulnerable parts of the world: the tradeoff between doing nothing and not learning, between doing research and harming local communities, and between limiting research to protect individuals and learning less about them. The solution lies somewhere in the balance, and all three of the panelists spoke to how important it is to lean on others throughout the research process. Having locals involved in each stage of research design and execution is key components to success.
“Even if we don’t have the answers,” says Professor Roessler, “we can at least think about them together.” Questions regarding research ethics are ever more prevalent as research methods expand to new terrains. By cultivating a community where scholars can interact to answer these tough questions and share their experience, political science can continue to move in a positive direction.
