Unexpected Negative Participant Responses and Researcher Safety: “Fuck Your Survey and Your Safe Space, Trigger Warning Bullshit”

Abstract

In this article, the authors revisit their experiences analyzing open-ended responses to an online questionnaire about the 2016 U.S. Presidential election. This piece initiates the discussion about the role of participant ethics in studies. People who did not fit the research eligibility requirements participated in the study and contributed vile remarks about the questionnaire and the authors. In addition to claiming the questionnaire protocol was biased and unethical, participants questioned the researchers’ professional abilities and wished death upon them. We dealt with concerns related to safety and the cumulative distress related to reading these negative and dangerous comments. We reflect on those concerns and the unexpected emotion work required to complete the study. Furthermore, we discuss the ramifications of participant sabotage and ill intent—and what that means for researchers trying to conduct ethical research.