Introduction: researching death, dying and bereavement

As early career researchers studying the end of life, we recognise that scholarly activity in the field of death studies – an umbrella term for research spanning all aspects of death, dying and bereavement, including end-of-life care – is growing in popularity. Since we completed our PhDs (less than 7 years ago), the number of UK universities offering courses on death-related topics has increased, mailing lists and online chat groups have multiplied, and the range of international seminars and conferences addressing topics in the field is expanding. This mounting interest in death studies makes this an opportune time to consider the methodological issues that doing research on death, dying and bereavement present.