Researching Sensitive Topics

As researchers, we often encounter topics that are difficult to navigate, either due to their content or because they sit at the heart of polarised discussions. How should we approach such sensitive topics? What steps should be taken when the subject matter affects us personally? As cultural researchers, we engage with people’s stories, which can be both moving and distressing. Investigating contentious subjects can be emotionally draining, and researchers themselves may become targets of online abuse when their work addresses sensitive topics or when they offer expert commentary in public discourse.

These urgent questions formed the basis of discussion in our panel at the 36th Nordic Ethnology and Folklore Conference (NEFK), held in Turku, Finland, from 11–14 June 2025. Our session titled “Researching Sensitive Topics in the Nordic Context: Methodological and Ethical Challenges” brought together scholars from across the Nordic region to examine how researchers approach sensitive materials in disciplines such as ethnology, folkloristics, cultural studies, cultural geography, and gender studies. Together, we explored the methodological and ethical considerations that arise when research delves into contentious or potentially harmful subjects.

The panel featured four thought-provoking presentations:

• Venla Österberg, Doctoral Researcher in the Study of Cultures at the University of Turku, presented “Ethical Principles and Challenges of Forced Migration Research,” discussing the moral responsibilities of representing displaced voices with care and integrity.
• Professor Emeritus Anders Gustavsson from the University of Oslo offered reflections in his talk “Fieldwork on Sensitive Themes: Subjective Experiences and Reflections,” emphasizing the emotional dimensions of ethnographic engagement and the researcher’s positionality.
• Viliina Silvonen, Postdoctoral Researcher at the Karelian Institute (University of Eastern Finland) and Research Fellow at the Finnish Literature Society, addressed “Accusations of Cultural Appropriation and Clashes in Lament Research,” grappling with the ethical implications of researching living cultural traditions.
• Evgenia Amey, Postdoctoral Researcher in the Kieliviha / Språkhat / Language Tensions project (University of Eastern Finland and University of Jyväskylä), presented a paper entitled “Studying the Changing Role of the Russian Language, Culture, and Cultural Productions in Finland: Ethical and Methodological Challenges and Considerations,” highlighting the sensitivities of linguistic and cultural identity in shifting political climates.

Each contribution was followed by lively and respectful discussion, underscoring the importance of creating scholarly spaces where methodological challenges can be shared and ethical complexities openly addressed.

We, the panel organizers, extend our sincere thanks to the presenters and participants for their engagement. As research increasingly intersects with social and political tensions, it is imperative that we continue to reflect critically on how we conduct our work—and how we care for ourselves and our communities in the process.

Let us continue this conversation and contribute to shaping a more thoughtful and resilient research culture in the Nordic context and beyond.

Karin Sandell, Postdoctoral Researcher, Kieliviha/Språkhat/Language tensions