Ethical Conduct of Research in the Aftermath of Mass Shootings

Mass shootings are complex and confusing situations that pose many methodological challenges for researchers who aim to promote knowledge that may help future impacted communities. Advancing scholarship about mass shootings requires multidisciplinary knowledge and a commitment to ethical decision-making. While the knowledge base is growing, the literature on ethical decision-making while conducting such research is limited. In fact, only one study has investigated individuals’ reactions to participating in a study following a mass shooting (Fergus, Rabenhorst, Orcutt, & Valentiner, 2011). Given this lack of specific information on the ethical conduct of research about mass shootings, this chapter will primarily draw on information from the literature on the ethics of human subjects research related to trauma as a whole.