
Welcome to the Challenging Research Network

Please scroll down for upcoming events.
The Challenging Research Network is a group of friendly researchers and academics who work in complex, emotionally demanding, and politically charged research territories. We span the humanities and social sciences, across all career stages, and we meet regularly to discuss the complex methodological and ethical issues we face in our work, and to support each other in a safe, confidential, and welcoming online space.
From the ethical quandaries of working with sensitive sources to uncovering potentially distressing events, whether in the archives or with research participants, we recognise that this research can impact the mental and physical health of all concerned, including the researcher. Our group is open to discussing issues facing researchers in this difficult terrain, and welcome suggestions for future topics.
Currently, our group hosts:
- Three large group meetings each year (one per term) when invited speakers share their experience on pressing issues of the day (currently online)
- Bi-monthly, mini lunchtime sessions when colleagues bring a particular ethical or methodological dilemma to the table (currently online)
- A website with resources, links and blogs
If you would like more information, or to join our group, please visit our Contact page and send us an email.
Upcoming Events
For information about previous events, please see our Past Events log.
21 September 2026 15:00-17:00 (UK Time) IN PERSON Seminar with Mia Martin Hobbs: “Elliptical violence and interpretive conflict in military memories from Vietnam to the War on Terror.” This seminar explores the challenges of working with oral histories that present sanitised memories of military violence. The event will be held in-person at Birkbeck, University of London. Spaces are limited. If you would like to attend, please e-mail us at challengingresearch@gmail.com and we will send you further information.
27 October 2026 15:00-16:30 (UK Time) Writing Difficult Subjects:Approaches to Research Storytelling This roundtable brings together two experienced writers working at the intersection of research, journalism, fiction and creative non-fiction to explore how we might use the structural, stylistic and creative approaches of different storytelling forms in our academic writing on difficult subjects. Speaker information and further details of the session’s themes and questions are available. If you would like to attend, please e-mail us at challengingresearch@gmail.com and we will send you further information.