Over the past decade, inter- and transdisciplinary methodologies that approach research problems from both natural and social sciences and integrate qualitative and quantitative methods have been taken up by action research in mountainous areas in the world. Research tools adapted from the rapid rural appraisal toolkit, such as transect walks, focus group discussions, mapping, etc., would require intensive interaction with local communities. In a mountainous context, community sampling is often influenced by accessibility, and as a result, some communities might have been selected as samples for too many research projects. How would members of these over-researched communities feel about being over-engaged? To what extent the research outcomes were subsequently triangulated with them and the final findings and recommendations eventually communicated with them? Were they able to make use of the research findings to make their own decisions, or did they benefit from the research in any possible ways? This paper i) reviews the existent literature from the Hindu Kush Himalayas to find answers to some of these questions; ii) presents some alternatives; and iii) discusses practical pathways to address the ethical challenges of action research.