Bringing Minors Into The Field
Minor Students or Workers in the Field
There are occasions when students, employees, or volunteers interested in field work are minors under the age of 18. Supervisors must obtain a completed PSU Authorized Volunteer Waiver with the signature of the minor’s legal guardian before the minor is allowed in the field. This form must be submitted to HR prior to work commencing. Any information shared to the research team about field locations, risks, and communication channels should also be provided to the legal guardian.
Researchers with Children in the Field
Many field researchers--especially those early in their training and career--are juggling the responsibilities of caring for children. Researchers who bring children into the field overwhelmingly report that that the experience is positive--both for the researcher and the children--but that challenges are common (Lynn et al., 2018). Supervisors and research leads can help team members balance field research safety and familial obligations by supporting and accommodating researchers with dependent children.
Considerations for Minoritized Scientists
Childcare responsibilities disproportionately affect female researchers relative to male researchers; male researchers are significantly more likely than female researchers to leave children at home with the other parent while conducting field research. Female researchers are significantly more likely to bring or hire an additional person on field trips to care for children (McGuire et al. 2012; Lynn et al. 2018).
Perhaps a less-obvious inequity to field research and family obligations is socio-economic inequities. Researchers who come from more privileged socioeconomic backgrounds will have more resources to subsidize costs of childcare in the field (paying for travel and accommodations for children and extra caretakers) or may be more able to draw upon free labor of grandparents or other family members (Lynn et al. 2018). Because many granting agencies will not allow research funds to be spent on family care during field research, these represent out-of-pocket expenses that likely only more privileged researchers can afford.
Before You Go
Be supportive
Support from supervisors and colleagues can significantly impact the ability of researchers to fulfill field research and childcare responsibilities. Supportive supervisors and colleagues can alleviate stress on these individuals and increase their productivity. Many early-career scientists--especially women--report that they delay starting a family because of perceptions that conducting field research and having families are incompatible (Lynn et al. 2018). Researchers that do have young children may not even consider asking to bring their children with them; supervisors that feel they can accommodate families during field research may bolster the research productivity of their trainees by suggesting that they are open to accommodating families.
Discuss accommodations
If a researcher opts to bring their children into the field, they likely will need additional accommodations. These accommodations may include extra space to carry infant gear or to accommodate additional people that may join to help with childcare responsibilities. Likewise, children will need safe spaces at field sites that are away from dangerous equipment, environmental conditions, or chemicals commonly encountered in research. Supervisors and researchers should explicitly talk about how to cover additional expenses, especially because many granting agencies will not allow grant funding to cover costs of childcare at field locations. Accommodating supervisors that can creatively leverage resources to facilitate childcare during field research can greatly increase equity for field researchers with children.
Consider conducting research at field stations
Field stations with family-friendly policies can be a boon to field researchers with dependent children. Infrastructure at field stations can provide safe environments for children and their caretakers to stay while parents are physically “in the field” conducting research.
In The Field
Be flexible & adjust expectations
Fieldwork with kids will likely be more difficult and require a more flexible schedule to accommodate parent and child’s needs. Meeting research goals may take longer with children present than without children, and so researchers should either plan for more time in the field or adjust expectations for how much research can be accomplished within a given time period. However, supervisors and research leads who accommodate parental flexibility will ultimately gain, not lose, in research productivity; if parents lack accommodations and are ultimately forced to stay home to provide childcare, they will get zero field research done.