Researching suicidal distress with LGBT communities in UK: Methodological and ethical reflections on a community-university knowledge exchange project

The Brighton and Sussex Community-University Knowledge Exchange Programme's aim (BSCKE) was to fund projects that would lead to an 'exchange of knowledge' through collaborative work between the university and community groups, with a focus on the impact of marginalisation and issues of social exclusion. Our successful submission outlined a key concern for community psychologists involving the seeming elevated rate of suicide distress amongst lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered (LGBT) individuals. The study used a participatory-action research approach and conducted an in-depth qualitative analysis of the experiences of suicidal distress and survival with mental health service users and young people who identify as LGBT. This paper reflects on the process of setting up the knowledge-exchange project before addressing methodological and ethical issues that arose during the course of the research project and the ways in which they were negotiated. It concludes by making recommendations for future applied research practice in community-university partnerships.