Refugee research: Navigating ethical considerations in working with displaced people

Moira Dustin (University of Sussex), Mohammad Naeim Maleki (UEA) and Hilal Seda Yildiz (Arden University)

Whilst ethically-based research on and with refugees is of fundamental importance to knowledge creation, policymaking and practical action, the academic frameworks in place to protect refugee rights and encourage their involvement in the research process, as well as the wider drivers for research in the UK, do not necessarily achieve these ends.

This session will explore practical steps that can be taken by those undertaking research on refugees. It will look at the ‘positionality’ of both researcher and researched, and seek to understand the dynamics at work between them, recognising that the stories told by refugees are not just ‘data points’, but rather a bridge to solidarity, agency and benefit for those involved. 

The three session leads bring different but complementary perspectives to bear on the issue. Hilal Yildiz has worked with refugee students in Türkiye and forcibly displaced participants in participatory, trauma-informed, and decolonial research projects; Moria Dustin has explored queer identities amongst amongst exiled Iranian people living in Türkiye, the UK and Canada; and Naeim Maleki, who began his research looking at identity, masculinity and agency in adult male learners in Afghanistan, became an asylum seeker himself during the process, which forced him to rethink assumptions about researcher neutrality, introducing new forms of vulnerability and insight.

The session will use Mentimeter to start a dialogue with the audience. It will begin by outlining the positions and experiences of each of the leads, who will then take part in a panel session that will highlight some of the practical steps they took in addressing the challenges they faced. It will then move to explore these with the audience, seeking to better understand a range of perspectives and knowledge. It will finish by identifying some tools by which researchers can more equitably and creatively work with refugees to better understand their journey. 

• Mohammad Naeim Maleki is a postgraduate researcher at the UEA’s School of Education and Lifelong Learning. His research focuses on the intersection of literacies, identity construction, agency and empowerment among male adult literacy learners in conflict affected states. He taught literacy and languages in different countries. He has worked with UN agencies in conflict areas, focusing on education and peace. Naeim has published research papers on teaching methodologies, literacies and education.
• Moira Dustin is an Assistant Professor in the School of Law, Politics and Sociology at the University of Sussex, where she also leads on Knowledge Exchange and Engagement for the School. In 2021, Moira launched Women in Refugee Law (WiRL) with Christel Querton (University of the West of England). The network brings together asylum claiming and refugee women, senior and early career scholars, practitioners, policymakers and activists from around the globe to re-centre the study of refugee women within refugee law, policy and practice.
• Hilal Seda Yildiz is a Lecturer in Equity, Diversity and Inclusion at Arden University, where she leads initiatives on neurodiversity, refugee inclusion, and trauma-informed education. She co-chairs the  Neurodiversity Network and chairs the Migration and Diversity Research Community, spearheading Arden’s University of Sanctuary application, and develops inclusive training for staff and students across the institution.