Professional Lives, Personal Struggles Ethics and Advocacy in Research on Homelessness

This edited volume illuminates critical issues through the particular lens of homelessness, bringing together some of the leading scholars in the field from an array of disciplines and perspectives to explore this condition of marginalization and the ethical dilemmas attendant to it. In so doing, the authors provide insights into the realities and challenges of social research that will be of guidance to students, activists, practitioners, policymakers, and service providers, as well as to both novice and seasoned researchers in fields of inquiry ranging from anthropology and sociology to geography and cultural studies. Although many texts have explored the subject of homelessness in general, few have attempted to encapsulate and examine the complex process of researching the issue as a phenomenon unto itself. The issue of homelessness is one that raises myriad questions about ethics and advocacy in the minds of researchers. This volume examines the many challenges of conducting ethical research of homelessness.

Trenna Valado, PhD, is an applied anthropologist who works with a consulting company that aims to improve the lives of children and families through interdisciplinary research and evaluation of social service programs. Randall Amster, JD, PhD, is professor of peace studies and graduate chair of humanities at Prescott College in Arizona.