Scattered black and whites: the importance of the positive and negative in the mosaic of human experience

There are opportunities for social scientists to adopt both complementary and contrasting perspectives as a means of drawing greater meaning about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the lives of others. This chapter shares experiences of conducting COVID-19 pandemic research and of exploring both the “light” side (looking at heroism, post-traumatic growth, sense of meaning in life) and the “dark” side (looking at stress, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder) of front-line workers in the United Kingdom and Ireland during COVID-19. The chapter explores the opportunities and challenges of drawing from multiple theoretical perspectives and illustrates why it is important for researchers not to impose their own biases and assumptions about how other people are experiencing significant life events.