Blurring Boundaries: Balancing between Distance and Proximity in Qualitative Research Studies With Vulnerable Participants

Abstract

Qualitative researchers who conduct in-depth interviews with vulnerable participants may experience certain challenges related to the vulnerability of their research subjects. Obtaining upsetting personal narratives may be emotionally taxing for the researcher, yet little knowledge is available as to how researchers are affected by this and which support could benefit them. This article explores how qualitative researchers from diverse research fields experience and deal with their encounters with research participants in vulnerable life situations. Information about this topic may inform research institutes how they can support the emotional wellbeing of researchers. Moreover, students and junior researchers who are getting acquainted with qualitative research may find it useful to learn about some challenges that may occur when doing research on vulnerable groups. For this study, we conducted semi-structured interviews with nine researchers from various research fields within social sciences who had extensive experience in doing research with diverse vulnerable groups. We used thematic content analysis to analyze the interview data. Findings from this study illustrate how conducting interviews with vulnerable research subjects may affect researchers emotionally. Several participants described negative experiences of emotional instability, powerlessness, and lasting impressions that made it difficult to “let go” of the research subjects. Some participants also highlighted positive effects of such encounters, such as personal growth. For all researchers, boundaries of the researcher role were a point of discussion, as these boundaries may seem less clear in practice than in theory. Research institutes could safeguard research ethics and enhance the psychological wellbeing of the researcher by providing researchers with adequate support systems.

The Openness of Access and Behavior of Disposing of Garbage on the Riverbanks

“…The requirement to determine the informant who will be interviewed are informants who understand correctly and provide accurate information about the research (Garrels, Skaland, and Schmid 2022). Condition other informants must have relevance and participation in the topic researched.…”

Reflections on being an insider researcher: a study exploring the experiences of men accessing rural mental health services

“…However, this is more than a self-indulgent reflection on your feelings -it involves asking questions of yourself to challenge your assumptions and scrutinise your influences and your sway over others. This enables you to acknowledge how you affect the research process and its outcomes (Green 2015, English et al 2022, Garrels et al 2022, Olmos-Vega et al 2022.…”

How can a researcher minimise causing harm when conducting interviews with particularly vulnerable children in longitudinal research?

“…Such discussions also provided us with emotional and ethical support, as sometimes hearing the personal narratives of some of our vulnerable children was emotionally taxing. This highlights the need for researchers, particularly when working with vulnerable participants or discussing sensitive topics to practise self‐care (see Garrels et al, 2022; Kabir, 2022; Kumar & Cavallaro, 2018).…”