Cultivating Productive and Inclusive Research Teams

Cultivating Productive and Inclusive Research Teams

It is never recommended to be out in the field alone because researchers are safer when working within a team (however, all the safety guidelines in this document are applicable no matter the size of the field team). Most field research is conducted in teams that work together on equipment operation, data collection, language translation, or just to make field research more enjoyable. However, team members can also be a source of conflict and risk. Field research is physically and mentally demanding and these stressors can strain team relationships (John and Khan 2018). Thus, effective field teams must work together to create professional and supportive relationships. 

Considerations for Minoritized Scientists

Field research, especially multi-day trips, can be an opportunity for research teams to bond. Unlike in typical academic settings, team members may have more free time for casual socializing during mealtimes and in the mornings or evenings before and after the workday. This opportunity for socializing can be beneficial to creating team unity. However, these experiences can also be exclusionary and uncomfortable for some (Pickrell 2020). Women and researchers with marginalized identities in the biological sciences, including race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, gender identity, or religion, all report feeling uncomfortable, excluded, and sometimes unsafe in field teams where they are the only marginalized (Demery and Pipkin 2020, Pickrell 2020, Viglione 2020), particularly when field teams manifest a “get-it-done-at-all-cost” culture that prioritizes physical intensity and ‘machismo’ (Nelson et al. 2017, Pickrell 2020). Women and early career team members are significantly more likely to report that they have been targets of harassment or sexual assault than male researchers or supervisors during field research (Clancy et al. 2014).

Considerations for Health and Disability 

Providing every team member with access to basic accommodations (food, lodging, and services that satisfies their needs and allows them to work effectively) improves each team member’s ability to participate in field research. Unfortunately, there is often a trade-off between a team member having to disclose personal health information with their ability to access accommodations and resources (Schumer 2019, JAN 2020). Team members can decide whether to disclose medical information to their supervisor or other team members, but in the United States it is not legal or appropriate for supervisors to pressure individuals to disclose health information. Many individuals may feel unsafe disclosing personal health information because of past discrimination or harassment from their colleagues and supervisors. The best remedy is for supervisors to provide basic accommodations for all team members. This removes the burden on an individual researcher to request some accommodations and reduces pressure and barriers that prevent qualified researchers from participating fully in field research.

Sometimes, basic accommodations will not be enough support to make field research accessible to everyone. In these events, team members may need to disclose health information to access accommodations they are legally entitled to. At PSU, undergraduate and graduate students may disclose their health conditions to the Disability Resource Center, which should advocate for any required accommodations that allow a team member to participate in field research. PSU staff and faculty may disclose their health conditions to the Human Resources Department when requesting accommodations. 

Before You Go

Research supervisors should provide team leaders and team members with the appropriate training and resources to foster positive field research experiences. Training should cover mediating interpersonal conflicts, empowering team members to protect their own personal safety, and ensuring team members are aware of available reporting mechanisms in the advent of risky or inappropriate actions taken by other team members.

Promote leadership and develop field team codes of conduct

Field research team leaders and members must be equipped to work together under challenging and stressful situations. Supervisors should meet with teams before field research begins to discuss team members' roles and responsibilities, day-to-day schedules, and provide team members the opportunity to discuss any of their safety concerns. Supervisors should work with team leaders and team members to develop ‘ground rules’ or codes of conduct that all team members agree to abide by during the trip. These should cover general safety expectations, how team members will communicate and resolve conflict together, and general behavior guidelines while in the field. Ground rules set expectations for all team members, build team member buy-in to what types of behavior are unacceptable, and provide a pathway for team members to report and flag situations that make them feel uncomfortable or unsafe (Nelson et al. 2017). Team leaders should bring written copies of the group’s ground rules to the field to mediate conflicts when issues arise. 

Cultivate an inclusive environment where all team members belong

Supervisors should be thoughtful about the culture they cultivate with their research teams and consider whether team culture may exclude some team members or negatively impact team member participation and performance (Nelson et al. 2017). To make field research equitable for all, casual conversations should never include jokes about marginalized groups or social pressure to participate in group activities. Supervisors should clearly state to all team members that researchers have the right to choose how they spend their free time. Team members who are pressured to assimilate into the dominant group culture can quickly become emotionally and mentally tired. This ultimately leads to less energy to devote to their field tasks, which may lead to poor job performance and more pressure from the group. 

Provide appropriate trainings 

All team members should be aware of their rights to an inclusive and safe work and learning environment and their responsibilities for promoting an inclusive and safe work and learning environment for their colleagues. Supervisors at PSU should consider organizing trainings through their Office for Global Diversity and Inclusion, for team leaders and members that cover preventing and responding to sexual harassment, building inclusive workspaces for people of all identities, and providing accommodations to researchers with disabilities. If such training is not available locally, team leaders should reach out to other institutions. Supervisors may consider involving their research teams in exercises where they can practice mediating interpersonal conflicts in the field (Appendix 1: Training scenarios for managing interpersonal conflicts).

Establish a strict no tolerance policy for harassment

In the field, a team member may have a limited support network and may be more likely to disclose information about harassment directly to the supervisor or another team member than to on-campus support services. Supervisors and team leaders should act on all harassment disclosures and validate the experiences of team members disclosing harassment. Actions may involve private discussions with the individual accused of harassment, discussions with the field team, removal of individuals who are participating in harassment, or reporting of harassment to the department chair and/or to the offices that cover topics such as sexual and gender discrimination, bias, or harassment, those can deal with civil rights, equity, diversity, and inclusion: File a Complaint of Discrimination or Harassment. 

The Human Resources Department and/or the police are also potential avenues for reporting harassment. When field teams see that codes of conduct and rules about harassment are enforced by supervisors and team leaders, team members report that their field research experiences are more positive, inclusive, and equitable (Nelson et al. 2017).  

Understand institutional policies and procedures for preventing and reporting harassment

Supervisors should ensure that all research team members are aware of laws, policies and procedures relating to sexual and gender discrimination, bias, and harassment (Title IX) for preventing and responding to reports of discrimination, bias, and sexual harassment. All team members should know how to file an official harassment report with the appropriate office, Global Diversity and Inclusion at PSU. Team members should be aware of the Student Code of Conduct and how to report violations. Supervisors and team leaders should familiarize themselves with campus resources for caring for team members who are victims of sexual assault. If researchers are working at field stations not affiliated with their home institution these field stations’ managers may also have official reporting protocols and requirements; however, these reporting protocols are in addition to, and not in lieu of, reporting mechanisms at the home institution.

Research team members should also be aware that at PSU, faculty, staff, and some graduate students are ‘mandatory reporters’ for sexual harassment claims. Supervisors should know how to refer team members to counseling services and other supportive resources. Graduate students who are also teaching or research assistants also may have mandatory reporting obligations when supervising undergraduates.

Explicitly acknowledge power structure in field teams, and empower team members to advocate for themselves

Field teams generally are structured with hierarchical roles and responsibilities, where team leaders and supervisors have greater power to make decisions and determine tasks for team members. This power structure leads to power differentials among field teams that may make team members feel less empowered to request things they need during field research or, even more damaging, less likely to report harassment or other dangerous behaviors by team leaders or supervisors (Nelson et al. 2017). When creating codes of conduct, supervisors and team leaders should acknowledge their positions of power within the group and make it clear that they are also held to the same professional standards as all team members. Supervisors should provide the name and contact information of their supervisors, who team leaders and members could contact if they wanted to discuss interpersonal problems or report harassment. This might be another faculty member in the department, the department chair, the field station director, or staff at PSU’s Global Diversity and Inclusion. Generally, team members that feel there are clear rules and accountability for all field crew members are more likely to feel included in field teams and safe during field research (Nelson et al. 2017).

Make a daily communication plan

All team members should know how to contact each other in the field. If the field site has reliable cell phone service, team members should all have each other’s cell phone numbers. If cell phone service is not reliable, a team member does not have access to a cell phone, or field research is in a very remote location, supervisors should consider providing additional means of communication, such as two-way radios or satellite phones for all team members. PSU’s EHS department has several DeLorme inReach Satellite Tracker units that you may check out and bring with you into the field for the duration of your trip.

In the event of an emergency in the field, these DeLorme units have an SOS button that sends a beacon to a 24/7 search and rescue monitoring center.  The Delorme unit will communicate your GPS coordinates to the center and will send help to your location.

If you are possibly interested in checking out one or more of these units for your field work, please submit a Field Work Safety Items Request Form.

Provide basic accommodations to reduce stress and conflict  

When field team members’ basic needs are not met, stress and conflict are more likely to arise. Supervisors should cultivate a lab culture that makes it safe for everyone to request basic accommodations without further justification or fear of reprisal. Before leaving for field research, supervisors and team leaders should provide information about the living accommodations and access to restrooms, water, and refrigerators at all field sites. Team leaders should schedule regular water breaks, meals, and bathroom breaks or routinely encourage team members to take breaks as needed (Greene et al. 2020). Similarly, team leads should prepare team members for the types of bathroom facilities that will (or will not) be available at the field site, which will allow individuals who need regular access to bathrooms to plan accordingly. 

If field teams will need to hike or use specialized vehicles (like ATVs, boats, or snowmobiles) to get to or between field sites, team members should understand what types of terrain they will be covering, the distances between research locations if teams will be moving from site to site, and the estimated physical exertion required. When possible, supervisors should provide vehicular transport, which will make the research more accessible for individuals with health and mobility concerns, as well as increase the ability for team members who are injured or at risk to more quickly get out of the field to safety. 

A good night’s sleep is also a basic accommodation that research teams should discuss for overnight field research trips. Sleep quality and quantity are important determinants of an individual’s health and a disruption of sleep can increase the severity or frequency of some medical conditions, leading to increased medical risk for some researchers. Team leaders and supervisors should make sure that sleep disturbances are minimized for all team members by discussing sleeping ‘ground rules’ with team members. Ground rules might include designating a no-noise zone around the sleeping accommodations, ‘quiet hours’ for all team members, and outline activities, such as showering, cooking, or socializing, that may be disruptive to sleeping team members. If a researcher with health concerns and/or disabilities requests a change in sleeping location to reduce sleep disturbances (farthest room from the socializing area, or a private room if available), the team lead and supervisor should accommodate this request. 

Get rid of 15-hour field days  

While there may be times that long, exhausting, field days are necessary, these types of days should not be the norm. If field research requires long sampling periods or round-the-clock data collection, supervisors and team leaders should develop a shift schedule for team members. When field teams get tired and worn out, interpersonal conflicts become more likely. All team members benefit from breaks in the field, but some team members with health conditions may require extended pacing of a trip, such as including scheduled “off” days to recuperate; team leaders should accommodate these needs, which will likely enhance all team member’s performance and productivity. Supervisors should design research protocols and make field timelines that are flexible enough to allow for breaks so no team member feels obligated to justify their need for a break. 

Think carefully about the impact of alcohol

The decision to bring and/or drink alcoholic beverages deserves careful thought and should be discussed as part of an initial “ground rules” discussion with field team members. While field research and alcohol consumption may go hand-in-hand for many, it also can be a source of stress or danger for others (Viglione 2020, Pickrell 2020). Some team members may be unable to drink or choose not to drink for medical, religious, or other personal reasons; team members should never be expected to justify their choices concerning alcohol consumption. Ensuring nonalcoholic beverage options are available and erasing social pressure to drink alcohol are essential steps towards equitable team socializing. 

Groups typically drink alcohol at night, sometimes very late into the evening. While casual drinking can promote team bonding, it also can also get out of control and put team members at risk. At a minimum, team members that are drinking can be noisy and cause disturbances to team members that are trying to sleep. If some team members are socializing late into the night, team leaders should address the group if they are becoming too loud or disruptive, especially if they are breaking any agreed ground rules. More concerning, is that inebriated team members may pose a risk to injuring themselves or others. Additionally, even casual drinking can lead to unwanted interactions among team members and alcohol is often used to facilitate sexual assault (RAINN 2021). 

Accommodate nursing mothers

Supervisors and research leads can accommodate new mothers during field expeditions. Nursing mothers need regularly scheduled breaks and private places to nurse or pump milk throughout the day. Supervisors should discuss with nursing moms their scheduling needs and privacy accommodations. Nursing moms should be supported in advocating for the time and space they need to comfortably participate in field research. If refrigeration is available at a field site, mothers may choose to store their breast milk for later use and supervisors should accommodate their request by providing access to a clean refrigerated space. For nursing moms - it is possible to do remote, multi-day field research while lactating (Shortall 2015, Scovanner 2017, Glenn 2020).

In The Field

Communicate with team members

If team members are not all working at the same location throughout the day, then team leaders should make sure everyone knows the following information for all team members:

1. the location and daily plan for each team member
2. the approximate times team member(s) will arrive at and depart from their location; and
3. how to contact each team member while in the field. All team members should know how to contact their supervisor, field station manager (if applicable), and team leader while in the field.

Resolve conflicts calmly

The physical demands of field research and the amount of time spent together can heighten tension and stress and can lead to more intense interpersonal interactions than in office or lab environments (Kintisch 2014). Supervisors and team leaders should address within-team conflicts or concerns. Team members can avoid conflicts by avoiding gossiping about coworkers. If conversations become tense or confrontational, researchers should take a break to calm down and collect their thoughts before coming back together to discuss a solution. Team members should listen to each other empathetically, identify the source of the conflict, and communicate effectively to find resolutions (Skiba 2020). It helps if team members are able to listen, find common ground, and respectfully engage with colleagues.

Don’t be a bystander

Some team members may be the target of verbal harassment during field research by other team members, leaders, or supervisors. How the field team responds to that harassment is critical to providing support and safety to the harassed team member. Team supervisors and team leaders should prepare team members to intervene, support team members, and report transgressions if another team member is subject to prejudicial language or harassment. Developing codes of conduct and practicing bystander intervention during safety trainings can create safer field research experiences for team members (Nelson et al. 2017). Team members may employ skills learned in previous bystander training workshops or The 5 D’s of Bystander Intervention: Be Direct and speak up about the harassment, create a Distraction to de-escalate the situation, Delegate and get help from someone else, Document the incident, and finally, check in with team member who was harassed if your response is Delayed.

Use a mediator to resolve serious conflicts

Team members in conflict should recruit a third-party mediator. The mediator--who could be a team leader, supervisor, or another person unaffiliated with the research team--should identify whether biases or cross-cultural communication barriers could have led to the misunderstanding, as well as if additional assistance from outside experts is necessary. Team leaders and supervisors should ensure conflict resolution talks take place as soon as is safe and possible. If supervisors or team leaders avoid assessing and resolving the conflict, they are putting their team at increased risk. 

Remove dangerous team members immediately

If conflict or emotions escalate to threats or acts of physical violence, supervisors, team leaders, or team members must act immediately. If team members feel uncomfortable or unsafe because of conflict, they should tell a supervisor or team leader immediately. If a team leader or supervisor are not currently present at the site or the team leader or supervisor are the aggressors, team members should take action to protect themselves and other team members. If an aggressive team member physically assaults another team member, cannot calm down, or is unable to follow instructions from a supervisor, team leader, or mediator they should be removed from the field site as soon as possible.  

Be supportive and transparent when responding to sexual harassment

If supervisors and team leaders are mandatory Title IX reporters, they should remind team members of their reporting status to preserve the team member’s privacy and agency to decide what to disclose and with whom. For supervisors and team leaders who are not mandatory reporters, they should follow the lead of the team member on whether they would like to report the incident. If a team member reports harassment, the person the victim initially reports to should listen without judgment and should not question the team member or ‘investigate’ the situation. The respondent’s response following a disclosure is critical to making the team member feel safe and empowering them to move forward, both in the field and in advocating for equitable treatment (Ullman and Peter-Hagene 2014, BARCC). Respondents should work with team members in navigating what support the team member requires, which includes helping them leave, staying with them so they feel safe, and navigating the reporting process. If it is not possible to remove team members from the field immediately, respondents should offer to stay near the team member to prevent further harassment and increase their peace of mind.  

Supervisors should be aware that the negative impacts of harassment may extend beyond the individuals directly involved in the incident. If other team members have experienced harassment or assault in the past, a disclosure of harassment by a colleague or mentee may be a trigger for that team member. Supervisors should encourage all team members to debrief on the incident and seek external support to process their experience.