The Geology Team - Prioritizing Security and Sense of Belonging

A team of faculty and graduate students in Geology is regularly engaged in field trips as research activities often require off-site data collection. These field trips are often overnight camping trips, typically in remote or semi-remote locations.

Field research is a common and popular aspect of geology research, which often attracts undergraduate and graduate students outside of geology majors. As the geology program’s field activities expand and more students participate in the trips, new members of the research team share concerns about their sense of safety in relation to cohabitating with their peers, as well as the lack of information about the local communities near the research site, available resources and general safety protocols. Specifically, women share concerns about safety related to sexual assault and students of color share concerns about potentially hostile attitudes from the residents near the research site.

Senior research team members are surprised by the new team members’ concerns. The senior members assert that field research is an adventure and being out in remote locations is part of the fun of science. The students’ initial concerns are not attended to, and research activities proceed accordingly. The number of students who express concern for the design and norms, geology field trips increases. A senior research team member recognizes that while the majority of concerns are vocalized by researchers who are women and people of color, the team members who are minimizing their concerns are mostly white men. The researcher advocates on behalf of the students and implores colleagues to more meaningfully engage with the students’ concerns.

The research team leaders connect and discuss the inclusivity of the field research culture and explore how they can more clearly communicate details, orient research collaborators, and build shared expectations and response protocols to maintain safety and community norms.

Key Take-Aways
  • The Issue: As the popularity of a geology research program grows, new participants, including women and people of color, express concerns about a lack of information regarding the transparency of details of their research sites and information regarding safety.
  • The Deliberation: The senior research team members are initially dismissive of the students’ concerns. With more frequent student concerns and the advocacy of a senior team member, the group more meaningfully examines the culture of the field research activities.
  • The Growth: The team acknowledges that existing norms and expectations worked for the founding group but do not meet the needs of a larger, more diverse constituency of researchers. They work to make protocols more transparent and create discussion spaces to establish group norms and expectations.