‘Someone would have to die for me to give up’: the experience of researching suicide

Laura Patterson

Chapter 34 in Handbook of Sensitive Research in the Social Sciences, 2025, pp 506-521 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: Young people are over-represented in suicide statistics, and many more young people make serious suicide attempts. Researching the communication leading up to a suicide attempt is, by most definitions, a sensitive topic. Employing an ethical approach to protect participants is arguably as important as developing approaches for researcher self-care; robust preparation is a vital part of both elements. The reality of the experience is that research and the lives of those undertaking the research often take unexpected twists, which can have a significant emotional effect. These, in turn, can create moral and ethical dilemmas that can threaten the wellbeing of the researcher. In this chapter, I explore how the impact of life events, including my father's death during COVID-19 and the death of a friend by suicide, alongside the unexpected aspects of researching suicide, combined to threaten my ability to continue to work on this sensitive topic. I reflect on the learning gained from the experience of managing situations where life and research unexpectedly intersect, arguing that robust support and an outlet for emotional expression are vital for researcher survival when investigating a sensitive subject. The chapter concludes by suggesting valuable strategies designed to help researchers when unexpected emotions enter the research space, learning how to balance belief in the research without sacrificing oneself in the process.

Keywords: Suicide; Young people; Sensitive; Reflexive; Support (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
ISBN: 9781035315222
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