Crisis methods: Centering care in a precarious world

Abstract

This article describes how I developed crisis methods as I undertook a research project on spousal caregiving during the height of COVID-19 in 2020. Informed by longstanding feminist methodological concerns related to reflexivity, the starting point is that we all always begin our work from our own experience. However, because of the topic or context, our experiences both past and present can complicate some projects more than in others. For example, heightened emotional complexity is often present in research exploring illness, disability, and care. The additional context of the pandemic, however, meant we were all undergoing a collective trauma simultaneously. As such, traditional modes of research suddenly demanded a more capacious questioning both of logistical and emotional norms in qualitative methodologies. This article outlines how to approach these new complexities via a systematic approach of crisis methods, informed by centering practices of care which integrate trauma-informed approaches, for managing them. It not only explores the role of trauma, care, and emotion during these new research processes, but also provides concrete ideas for moving into the future, where new crises are inevitable.