The INTERMAPS team has placed a strong emphasis on ethics and care throughout the entire research process. From the outset, we have actively collaborated on developing strategies to integrate ethical considerations, emotional processes, and care into the project. Throughout the project, we have implemented several strategies to ensure that all participants and researchers were taken care of, as well as that the data collected was safely stored and secured. 

Ethics

The ReliefMaps+ website is GDPR-compliant and approved by the Ethics Committee of Universitat Pompeu Fabra. However, the responsibility for ethics and data protection in research goes beyond the technical requirements of the platform and also has to do with what researchers do before, throughout and after the data collection with Relief Maps.

Filling in a Relief Map can be in itself a reflexive and transformative process, requiring a strong emphasis on ethics and participant care. If you are working on social issues, especially with vulnerable populations, and/or on sensitive topics that are linked to discrimination, inequalities or trauma, we advise you to consider the following strategies for incorporating ethical, emotional and care considerations into your research project when using Relief Maps. 

The following suggestions are based on our experiences working with the INTERMAPS project and the reflections of our research team after applying the Relief Maps in various contexts. While these are recommendations drawn from our own practice, each research project will have its own specific needs and ethical considerations. Therefore, researchers should adapt these strategies to suit the specificities of their study. If you would like to see how these principles were applied in practice, see this guide.

10 Ethical Principles of Data Collection with ReliefMaps+

  1. Wellbeing: Filling in a Relief Map is a complex exercise of introspection that may evoke experiences of distress, discrimination and violence. Therefore, informed consent is a starting point but it is not sufficient: we must ensure that the person truly understands what participation entails, that they want to participate, and that they feel free to stop when they need to. Accordingly, providing an information sheet and asking participants to sign the consent form is a starting point. Safety does not just mean having the data stored in safe and protected environments but also looking after the participants’ experience while they use the platform, guaranteeing confidentiality. Once the activity has concluded, wellbeing and safety also involve providing specific resources if intense distress arises.

  2. Accessibility: Guaranteeing accessibility with the use of ReliefMaps+ entails adapting the method of data collection according to the different skills, levels of digital literacy and life situations. The use of the platform can range from autonomous and remote use (a person filling in the information alone at home) to requiring a researcher to transcribe the participants’ explanations to the platform while the latter narrates them in interview format. In addition to the digital aspect, accessibility is also related to the participants feeling that this space is also for them, that there are no incorrect answers and that they can express themselves using their own language.

  3. Respect: The way in which the researchers approach data collection is key to show respect to the participants and their time. They are sharing personal experiences with us, some of which are very intimate, and utmost respect is required. Correct and clear communication is essential, demonstrating confidence as researchers so that participants trust in our duty both to protect their data and to analyse and disseminate them. When we give instructions, when we accompany or conclude a process, we must make sure that people feel that their voices count, that they are valuable to us and that we will treat them with respect.

  4. Protection: The spaces where data collection takes place influence what participants share and their wellbeing during the process. Guaranteeing safe spaces involves ensuring that they are accessible and comfortable, that confidentiality and privacy are guaranteed during data collection and that the participant can stop, leave or move to a calm space if needed.

  5. Anticipation: Working with ReliefMaps+ often involves opening doors to delicate life experiences. It is important to anticipate potential situations of distress, tension or resistance and to prepare support and response protocols. Anticipating also means getting to know the group you are working with and thinking about what could be considered a difficulty or challenge for each profile. However, it is important to always be open to new situations and to act as required by each case, in a flexible manner. 

  6. Reflexivity: Using the platform as researchers involves a constant process of self-reflection. There is never a final protocol and it is important to be flexible about rethinking our practices if they did not work for the participants or for us. Debating about the dilemmas that arise, acknowledging mistakes and making changes is part of responsible research. Therefore, the reflective process is ongoing and is never considered closed. Everything is always open to review and improvement.

  7. Positionality: All individuals occupy a specific position in structures of power. Our gender, origin, age and skin colour condition the way we see the world, how we relate to others and how we conduct research. It is important to assume the limitations and potential of our position in relation to the participants and the topic of research. If we work as part of a team, we must reflect collectively and accept the responsibility that this entails.

  8. Self-Care: Using the platform also affects the researchers emotionally: listening, transcribing while listening to a participant or reading testimonials of discrimination, violence or distress can be a very painful experience. Moreover, data collection in certain hostile environments can entail physical and emotional risks for researchers. Looking after ourselves as a team involves listening to each other, sharing our experiences during data collection, sharing out tasks fairly, establishing internal security protocols and creating spaces where we can express how we feel.

  9. Social Justice: Using ReliefMaps+ is also a political responsibility. Data collection through this platform opens up the possibility of generating highly intense experiences for participants and therefore it also entails huge responsibility in the analysis and dissemination of the data. It is essential to reflect on our own biases, to avoid simplistic or blaming interpretations, and to remain highly attentive to the risk of stigmatising certain groups or places.

Transformation: Completing a Relief Map is not a questionnaire: it is an exercise in reflection and awareness-raising that can be painful, but also liberating. It has transformative potential because it helps to reveal the structural dimensions underlying individual experience and can foster empathy and collective action. As researchers, we must take responsibility for the awareness we generate and strive to give it a collective meaning.

Check the full guide.