When the Irene Fernandez trial concluded last Thursday, one major concern emerging from the seven-year criminal prosecution case was the line of questioning the public prosecutors took on the issue of research principles and ethics.

It became apparent that 'personal knowledge', according to the prosecutors, was required for Fernandez's research and analysis to hold up in the 'false news' trial.

The entire research procedure of Fernandez and her team was questioned, firstly on the basis that they were not 'experts' in addressing the health issues faced by migrants, and secondly that no researcher had first hand experience inside the camps.