The Trauma in Research Special Interest Group (TiR SIG) is one of two Special Interest Groups led by our own SCDTP students and is open to the wider SCDTP community.
- What are the unintended impacts of research on participants and on us, as researchers?
- How do we navigate ethics, emotions, and care when working with sensitive or difficult topics?
If these questions strike a chord, we’d love you to join the Trauma in Research Special Interest Group (TiR SIG), a supportive forum for discussing the emotional and ethical challenges of conducting trauma-related research.
This is a space for PhD researchers across all disciplines who are working with emotive, marginalised or potentially triggering topics – or who are simply curious about how to make their research more trauma-informed. We’ll explore how to care for both participants and ourselves, share experiences, and develop tools and approaches for safe, ethical and thoughtful research practice.
About the Group
This SIG is open to PhD researchers across all SCDTP partner institutions and disciplines who are working with emotive, marginalised, or potentially triggering topics — or who are simply curious about making their research more trauma-informed.
Together, we’ll explore how to care for both participants and ourselves, share experiences, and develop tools and approaches for safe, ethical, and reflective research practice.
Our aims are to:
- Raise awareness of vicarious trauma in research
- Explore what trauma-informed practice looks like in real-world contexts
- Create a supportive space for discussion, learning and reflection
Contact
Whether you’re just starting out or already deep into fieldwork, if your research engages with trauma—or you simply want to learn how to do research with care—this SIG offers a supportive and reflective space to explore these ideas.
For questions or to find out more, please contact the group co-leads:
- 📧 Clare Phillips – C.L.Phillips@soton.ac.uk
- 📧 Sadie Rockliffe – S.Rockliffe1@uni.brighton.ac.uk
Stay Connected on Teams
Further updates, discussions, and resources for the Trauma in Research SIG will be shared via our dedicated Teams group.
We encourage all interested students to join the Teams space to stay connected and take part in ongoing conversations.
Upcoming Events
Inaugural Meeting
Our first online session will take place on:
📅 Tuesday, 21 October 2025
🕚 11:00 AM – 12:15 PM
📍 Microsoft Teams (link to join)
We’re delighted that Kerry Dowding will be joining us to speak about her excellent guide:
Trauma-Informed Social Research: A Practical Guide (you can download the toolkit here🡕).
There’ll be time for Q&A and space to reflect on where we’d like the SIG to go next.
Agenda (approximate timings):
- 11:00 – Welcome and introduction to the SIG (Clare & Sadie)
- 11:15 – Guest presentation: Kerry Dowding on Trauma-Informed Research
- 11:45 – Q&A and group discussion
- 12:00 – Shaping the SIG: Next steps and future topics
Future sessions will be held quarterly, both online and in person, and may include guest speakers, shared readings, residentials, and collaborative workshops to explore challenges together.
