Aligning risk frameworks with fieldwork realities: extending Rasmussen’s model to scientific research settings

Katharine E.T. Thompson; Katherine J. Kling; Amanda K. Rowe; Scott McLean; Clara Y. Tran; Paul M. Salmon

doi:10.1016/j.ssci.2026.107468

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Aligning risk frameworks with fieldwork realities: extending Rasmussen’s model to scientific research settings

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Aligning risk frameworks with fieldwork realities: extending Rasmussen’s model to scientific research settings

Katharine E.T. Thompson, Katherine J. Kling, Amanda K. Rowe, Scott McLean, Clara Y. Tran and Paul M. Salmon

Safety Science, Vol.206, pp.1-10

2027

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2026.107468

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Abstract

Scientific fieldwork is an essential component of research across many academic disciplines. Fieldwork entails numerous risks, ranging from interpersonal to environmental risks, and can often result in physical and mental injury or illness. Despite these potential harms, standardized frameworks for understanding, managing, and responding to incidents in fieldwork remain underdeveloped. A limited understanding of incident causation in fieldwork contexts compounds this gap. In this article we propose that fieldwork, like other workplaces, operates as a complex socio-technical system in which people, cultural beliefs, governance, equipment, and the environment interact to create both safe and unsafe outcomes. To better understand the scientific fieldwork system, we conducted four focus groups to identify the people and institutions that constitute a fieldwork system and to characterize how these actors are organized within hierarchical levels. Through these sessions, we developed a classificatory scheme of variables that together influence safety outcomes. In total, 91 different actors across seven hierarchical levels and a contextual domain were identified. The resulting ActorMap and associated contributory factors offer a foundational framework for operationalizing safety and risk approaches, such as AcciMapping, in fieldwork settings. By incorporating these insights, we can enhance training, policy development, and institutional support structures to better equip researchers for the challenges of fieldwork.

Details

Title: Aligning risk frameworks with fieldwork realities: extending Rasmussen’s model to scientific research settings
Authors: Katharine E.T. Thompson (Corresponding Author) - Pennsylvania State University
Katherine J. Kling - Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Amanda K. Rowe - University of Colorado Boulder
Scott McLean - University of the Sunshine Coast
Clara Y. Tran - Stony Brook University
Paul M. Salmon - University of the Sunshine Coast
Publication details: Safety Science, Vol.206, pp.1-10
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date published: 2027
DOI: 10.1016/j.ssci.2026.107468
Data Availability: The data that has been used is confidential.
Grant note: This research was funded by grants from the National Science Foundation's Ethical and Responsible Research (ER2) program (NSF Award 2314594).
Organisation Unit: Centre for Human Factors and Systems Science
Language: English
Record Identifier: 991262790402621
Output Type: Journal article

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