Abstract #193  -  Encounter with the field. Research experiences and stances in the area of HIV/AIDS
Authors:   Presenting Author:   Ms Fanny Chabrol - EHESS
Additional Authors:  Ms Fanny Chabrol, Mr Gabriel Girard,
Aim: After more than 25 years of HIV/AIDS social science, fieldwork continues to confront researchers with many political and ethical challenges. Today, the considerable existing literature on HIV and AIDS requires an understanding of how to best transmit and communicate on research practices and the knowledge produced. To think implication of the researcher with his « field » - and distance to the field – comes from old considerations in the area of social sciences including HIV and AIDS. Reflexive stances with regards to fieldwork have always been crucial in our scientific posture. In that sense, questions that we, as young researchers working on HIV/AIDS, are today asking are not necessarily new. However, the context of an epidemic with complex ramifications, made of rapid social, political, therapeutic transformations requires a constant re-questioning and re-evaluation of our methodologies, research’s stances from fieldwork experiences.
Method / Issue: This assessment lead us to invite a dozen PhD candidates from different disciplinary backgrounds to reflect on « implication, reflexivity and research stances of young researchers in the HIV/AIDS field ». This two days seminar was supported by the French National Agency for AIDS Research (ANRS), and prominent French NGOs like AIDES et Sidaction took their part in the discussions. Rich and intense debates clearly shown the need to follow up and enrich ethical and epistemological issues, from our research experiences.
Results / Comments: Those discussions were collected and reworked collectively to produce an edited volume called "Encounter with the field. Research experiences and stances in the area of HIV/AIDS" to be published in September 2009. The objective of this publication is to continue and deepen this exchange and reflection on our field experiences by sharing more generally these issues both with senior researchers and with actors from the field.
Discussion: In presenting this project and publication, we ought to demonstrate that exchange, discussions and debates among young researchers are key to their insertion in the field and to the quality of the research they wish to produce. This collective reflexion on our field experiences has pointed out true convergences. Among them: - The ethical considerations are crucial and the will to think an applied research is shared; - A strong interest for developing countries and the challenges that health access inequalities poses to us as researchers stands out as a priority; - The will to mutualise experiences and to open ourselves to dialogue with professionals (health care professionals, activists, etc.) is a posture we privilege.
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