Participants’ experiences of being interviewed about an emotive topic

Abstract

Participants can find in-depth interviewing about emotive topics a helpful, even 'therapeutic', experience. However, the purpose of the research interview is not to intentionally offer any form of therapy and researchers need to recognize and carefully consider this potential outcome at an early stage of the research process. Researchers studying emotive topics should also be aware of the possible impact of participants' experiences on their own emotional well-being.

The Risks and Benefits of Conducting Sensitive Research to Understand Parental Experiences of Caring for Infants With Hypoxic–Ischemic Encephalopathy

“…most do not regret participation (Lowes & Paul, 2006) or report the interviews as intrusive (McGrath, 2003). For some participants, feeling emotional distress may be viewed as harmful.…”

Care and communication between health professionals and patients affected by severe or chronic illness in community care settings: a qualitative study of care at the end of life

“…152, [155][156][157] This applies also to patients with terminal conditions, or who knew that they were dying, and bereaved relatives of patients who had died. 156,158 Research has found that such patients may welcome the opportunity for their voice to be included and to make a contribution to research that will benefit others in future.…”

Understanding Participant Experiences: Reflections of a Novice Research Participant

“…In the literature, this approach is best exemplified by McCoyd and Shdaimah (2007), though even they talked about the outcomes of the relationship as "benefits." In addition, Lowes and Gill (2006) implicitly conceptualized the participants' experiences relationally, though, in the end, their conclusions were punctuated through the framing language of cost/benefit.…”

“…(Lowes & Gill, 2006;Watanabe et al, 2011;Wu et al, 2009). This indicates that the costs are not so equally compared with the benefits because participant motivations will set these in balance with one another.…”

“…If one is interviewing on traumatic topics, the risk of referred trauma must be taken into account as a potential harm. Lowes and Gill (2006) sought to understand the interview experience from their participants' perspectives. They found that subjects articulated some initial uncertainty or anxiety about participating (p. 590), but also expressed a tendency to get involved in the research despite these feelings of apprehension for the sake of others, whom they thought might benefit from the study itself.…”