Military and Oral History Conference:
Between Memory and History
Researching Vulnerable Groups in the Canadian Forces through Personal Interview: Methodological and Ethical Considerations
Craig Leslie Mantle, Canadian Forces Leadership Institute & Centre for Military and Strategic Studies, University of Calgary, and Justin C. Wright, Canadian Forces Leadership Institute.
Since the mid-1990s, the Canadian Forces (CF) has placed an increased emphasis on: 1) rigorous, social scientific research in order to better understand the “human factor” in operations; and 2) comprehending the impact of operations on the mental health of military members. Over the past two decades, these two priorities have converged. In the context of a new and complex security environment in which the diagnoses of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other operational stress injuries (OSIs) have increased markedly, the issue of defence researchers conducting personnel-focused research with potentially at-risk, vulnerable CF members has become a methodological concern of great importance. As such, this paper explores numerous ethical considerations and their ultimate impact on research methodology as it pertains to conducting research with potentially vulnerable military members. Through the use of a specific case study consisting of a recent Canadian Forces Leadership Institute publication dealing with bravery and valour in Afghanistan, the material for which was gathered entirely through oral interviews with decorated soldiers, this paper looks at: 1) participants’ rights in a military context, including informed consent, confidentiality, and their degree of involvement in the editorial process; 2) access to participants and considerations of power in relation to their chain of command; 3) researchers’ obligations, especially in terms of their awareness of OSIs (such as PTSD) and the mitigation of associated risk; 4) considerations of interviewing space; and 5) the broader issue of risk with respect to military members’ contract of unlimited liability. Taken on the whole, this paper raises and explores a number of pertinent issues that all researchers dealing with any military population, whether currently serving or retired, must consider when framing their methodological approach. Although developed within the context of an Afghanistan-centric project, the considerations raised herein apply equally to both military and civilian researchers who interview veterans of any conflict of whatever vintage.