Occupational stress research: Considering the emotional impact for the qualitative researcher

Leading occupational stress researchers have highlighted the need for
more qualitative research to advance our understanding of occupational
stress as a complex and dynamic process. However, qualitative research
can be challenging particularly when it involves the exploration of emotive
issues such as occupational stress. Although research institutions provide
ethical guidelines for the protection and support of research participants,
much less emphasis is placed on the impact of such research on the
researcher. Yet in qualitative studies of occupational stress, participants
often display a range of emotions to a researcher who is expected to be
both empathetic and professional in his/her conduct. If qualitative
researchers are inadequately prepared for the emotions they may
experience in the field and poorly supported through the research process,
then they may lose confidence and eschew qualitative research in favor of
quantitative work thereby maintaining the status quo in occupational
stress research. This chapter draws on both the literature on researcher emotion and the author’s own research experience to explore some of the
problems encountered by qualitative researchers, and presents a number
of recommendations to support qualitative researchers involved in the
study of occupational stress.