Risk

Risk is a value-laden concept that can be viewed positively or negatively. Risk-averse scientists will postpone a space shuttle launch when weather conditions threaten human life, whereas successful entrepreneurs are often praised for risk taking. In qualitative research, risk refers to the chance or probability that harm or injury may occur either in the course of the research or as a consequence of the research. Therefore, risk is a consideration for researchers, participants, and research ethics boards. Risk in qualitative research is a controversial and often misunderstood concept, particularly because the hypothetical chance of harm is frequently seen as an actual harm.

Researchers should consider risk during the design of research protocols, and they should attempt to determine whether a methodology presents real unwanted harm or injury to participants. Harms may include invasion of privacy, violation of confidentiality, damage to reputation, and physical injury. Researchers and ethics boards should be aware that their perceptions of risk may vary from those of research participants. It is prudent to understand risk from the perspective of those who participate in research based on comprehensive information about foreseeable harms.

The type of research presents different capacities to weigh risk against actual harms. For example, in experimental research, the harms caused by applying force to a person's body can be measured in terms of pain as well as tissue and bone damage. In qualitative research, however, risk is much more difficult to assess and often involves looking to future harms for which there is little or no evidence. Anthony Giddens called this “manufactured risk”—that is, “new risk environments for which history provides us with very little previous experience” (p. 3). Although we live in a risk society, researchers have not dedicated research to measuring the risk of actual harm in social science research. Instead, institutions such as research ethics boards focus on managing and avoiding manufactured risk.

Many research ethics codes outline a two-level standard for risk assessment: minimal risk and greater than minimal risk. Minimal risk is defined as the degree of harm or discomfort that research participants would encounter in their routine daily lives relative to the research design. Minimal risk research demands a lesser degree of ethical scrutiny than does research that exceeds the minimal risk standard. Research in the greater than minimal risk category should be evaluated on the basis of the actual harms that may arise from the research against the benefits of the research. Benefits include immediate benefits for research participants and prospective benefits to scientific knowledge and society.

A challenge in any risk–benefit analysis in qualitative research is that all risks and potential benefits cannot be known at the outset. Therefore, research participants should be advised of reasonably foreseeable harms and benefits. In general, most qualitative research presents little or no risk to participants, and in most cases risk can be managed effectively through appropriate methodologies.