We recently had the pleasure of visiting by Skype with Dr. Ann Laudati, Professor of Human Geography at Utah State University’s College of Natural Resources. Ann’s research focuses on the economies of natural resource extraction in North and South Kivu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. She talked to the CGO about ethics in research encompassing the times prior to, during and after research.  The bulk of her work is in contested areas that have been marked by a lot of violence, and often her research brings her into conversation with the leaders of armed militia or rebel groups.

First she focused on the actual selection of research questions and field sites. Do you chose a place where you can get into a hammock on the beach at the end of the day, or do you chose a place that will be less comfortable but address the hardships face by others? She asked who gets to decide which are the most important research questions – the researcher or the people being researched? She also discussed how policymakers are often in the field for relatively short periods of time, and that it is impossible to understand issues such as resource conflicts in the DRC within a few weeks or months. Ann’s view is that academics have an obligation to spend the time on the ground to really understand what is happening.

As noted, Ann works with armed groups, and she often brings them goats or money so that they will talk to her. She does not send their names to the International Criminal Court or even local authorities. She eats and drinks with them and she has to constantly ask herself if she is perpetuating violence by giving a voice or legitimacy to such groups.  She also talks with victims. Ann is white, and when she visits families she has to be aware that they might get in trouble with armed groups for talking with her. She cannot promise safety. This is one of her main ethical dilemmas in her research.

As far as post-research presentation, Ann says that one of the main problems of academic work is that academics don’t present their work in a way that is accessible to the public, meaning that academic work is often seen as making little difference. New generations of academics are becoming more action oriented and Ann discussed how she has been criticized because her research is ‘too activist.’ But that is the entire point of doing research for her, to be active and promote change. There is also the problem of who is considered an expert. In response to a student question, Ann discussed the problem of representation. As a white American, too often people in Sub-Saharan Africa assume she is more of an expert than locals. As a way of contributing to building the confidence of expertise in DRC, she always teaches courses at a university in the DRC and she hires local students and advocates as her research assistants and translators.

Finally, Ann stressed the problems of representations of Africa in the media create problems for researchers. She has trouble getting funding because people think it’s too dangerous, but this is all based on media accounts and people who have never even been there. Ann loves her work in what is often considered one of the most violent and chaotic places in the world.