Ethics beyond the ethics board: field research in light of the local turn

Field research in peace and conflict (PC) research has changed as a result of intellectual trends, in particular the ‘local turn’, without a sufficient reflection on ethical practice. The growing need for contextualised data in both qualitative and quantitative research continues to encourage more PC researchers to collect their own data, often relying on institutional collaborations, ‘local’ research assistants, or remote research techniques. Climate change and the decolonialisation imperative provide two additional (ethical) justifications for rethinking current approaches to (field) research. This article discusses the often-invisible ethical issues and harms resulting from the need for more granular data, including its political economies and structural inequalities, that raise ethical issues beyond formal ethics applications. It elucidates four pathways for field research, outlining the challenges to knowledge production and the resulting ethical issues. The article concludes by advocating for broader reflection and an integrated ethics, highlighting the discipline’s inherent ethical responsibility.