Research involving human participants can be the most creative and rewarding engagement, also distinguished by a wide range of methodologies. However, it comes with its own challenges related to ethics, technology, administration, institutional regulations, and the effective dissemination of findings. A group of researchers from Canada and the U.S. will discuss some common ‘stumbles’ in human participant research, including bias in quantitative data sets; the responsibility of disabled scholars for protecting participants and themselves; reconciling multilingual lifeworlds with western approaches to research and publishing; nurturing ‘slow science’ among emergent scholars; and overcoming institutional gaps in support for community-based research.