Conducting “dirty research” with extreme groups: understanding academia as a dirty work site

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore dirty work sites within an academic context.Working with particular “unloved” groups (Fielding, 1993) can present a number of challenges to researchers, and if professional boundaries are not carefully maintained, researchers can be seen as “dirty workers” within an academic context.
Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws a qualitative research project that explores women’s involvement with nationalist movements in the UK.
Findings – Researching “unloved” groups, and in particular racist organizations, presents a number of potential emotional and professional, and can render researchers “dirty workers” if clear professional boundaries are not maintained.
Originality/value – Examining academia and some academic research as a dirty work site adds to existing literature (Kreiner et al., 2006) that suggests any occupation can have a “dirty work” element that must be negotiated. This paper presents new challenges for managing spoiled “dirty” identities, and suggests that identity management is context-specific.

Special Issue: Doing Dirty Research