Week 5 – Establishing &

Maintaining the Research

Relationship: February 5,
2024
Reflexivity in Research
- Reflexivity: Awareness of research subjectivity
- “Focus on how does who I am, who I have been, who I think I am, & how I feel affect
data collection analysis” (Pillow, 2006)
- Researchers should not see themselves as passive participants
o They need to be aware of their role in the process of the research
- Reflexivity occurs when a researcher does not report facts or truths
o This researcher activity constructs interpretations of their experiences when in the
field
- Reflexivity is most often understood as the process by which the researcher examines
how their own life affects the research process
- 3 forms of Reflexivity:
o Ecological/Narcissistic: The focus is on the researcher
o Textual: The researcher examines the rhetoric they deploy in the analysis
o Epistemic: The focus is on dissecting the social conditions & techniques of
production of the scientific project
- Reflexivity in criminological research is important because it requires researchers to
think through criminological issues as they relate to politics & policy
- When doing research with vulnerable groups, researchers typically describe the
complicated process of accessing those populations
o Researchers sometimes describe how their own political & intellectual beliefs are
represented in their data & the challenges they encountered during the research
process
- Access to participants is a challenge & access to vulnerable groups can be a bigger
challenge
o Gatekeepers: Help or hinder researcher
Accessing Participants
- Going through the ethics process to secure approval before entering the field
o Understanding the ethical principles can help expedite the process (e.g., TCPS2_
- Accessing some groups/populations are much more difficult than others
o E.g., Vulnerable & marginalized groups
o Prisoners
- Prisoners have been historically exploited in research endeavours
- In the context of research with prisoners. Access is most often difficult & sometimes
impossible
- Access to prisoners is supposed to be difficult
o Access is often restricted because of procedures within the institutions
- Security typically takes precedent when attempting to access inmates
o Researchers entering institutions are thoroughly searched & access to inmates
could be terminated on short notice
- Communication may be 1 of the most important aspects to accessing participants for
research
o Particurlarly vulnerable groups
- Communication is required at all levels of access
o E.g., Prison Research: Organizations, top administrators, local administrators,
correctional officers
- Regular contact with liaison personnel is always an effective strategy for maintaining
access
- Communicate & share research findings with the organization
- There are several ethical considerations that are required for accessing participants
- Consent: Written or verbal consent?
o Need to consider the group being studied
- Researchers must ensure respondents volunteer to participate & are not coerced or bribed
to take part in the study
o Incentives (Money) for participants need careful consideration
- Strong preparation for the study is paramount for the researcher(s)
- Need to prepare for the ‘unexpected’
o It might be more useful to access existing data sources if possible
o This can prevent any unnecessary delays that may arise with accessing
participants
- Consideration of the needs of participants is important
o Vulnerable populations may not trust researchers
o Researchers often viewed as ‘outsiders’
- Accessing participants may often involve engaging positively with the gatekeepers
- Researchers may have to engage in ‘acting’ to enter the field
o Role-conforming to be accepted by the gatekeepers
 - Gaining access requires strategy & hard work
o Persistence & inter-personal skills are necessary
o Researchers may be required to negotiate & re-negotiate access daily
o Can result in a significant emotional toll

Establishing Access
- Research has caused harms to several vulnerable & marginalized historically
- There are several valid reasons that vulnerable populations may be hesitant of joining or
participating in the research
o E.g., Unsafe, participants being misrepresented, research not benefiting the
participants, participation not worth the compensation, participants experiencing
micro & macro aggressions
- Research with vulnerable groups can be emotionally taxing for researchers
o Researchers need to manage emotions in the field
o Building relationships require empathy; enhances the data collection process
- Researchers vary in how to display & regulate openness with participants
- Some researchers may be more open to showing emotion with others suppress it
- Emotion management is important because the suppression of emotion can lead to
negative feelings
o Can also result in role strain: Researchers adopt a range of identities to reflect the
constant changing set of contexts
- Lack of consensus in how emotions should be displayed
- Recruiting participants can be 1 of the most difficult stages of the research process
- When working with vulnerable populations, recruitment methods will vastly influence
access to the population
o Recruitment methods often rely on using social networks
o E.g., Researcher’s personal connections or an organization that serve the
population
- Recruitment methods may place an undue burden on researchers, community leaders, &
organizations
- Recruitment strategies & techniques may enhance or inhibit the recruitment process
- When working with vulnerable populations, building trust is essential
o Transparency about the project is paramount
- Participants have the right to be informed of the scope of the research
o Methods, ethics, compensation, confidentiality, data collection & analysis,
dissemination
- Researchers may take on other roles during the study
o E.g., Trusted community members
Maintaining the Research Relationship
- Making participants feel valued is an important way to develop & enrich the research
relationship
o Showing appreciation of their time is a good strategy
- Give credence to research participants that they are doing the researcher a favour
o They may also get benefits from the study
- Being respectful of participants is necessary
o This can increase the credibility of the study
o Credibility can help recruit more participants for the study
- Being accommodating & flexible with participants can enhance the connections made
with individuals
- Being personal is a useful strategy when engaging with participants
o Personalize communication with the participant
o Show interest in why the participant volunteered to be a part of the study; This is
useful info to have & use to strengthen the researcher relationship
- Being diligent & having patience is important
o Researchers are often not successful with recruiting large numbers of people;
hearing ‘no’ or not hearing anything at all is common

Exiting the Research Relationship

- Can be a major challenge
- Researchers typically devise a withdrawal plan to avoid ‘burning’ the field or future
research
- There are 3 common reasons researchers exit the relationship:
o Institutional: External to the researcher; end of funding
o Interpersonal: Exit because of interactions between people
o Intrapersonal: Internal reasons; mental exhaustion; emotional overload
- Physically leaving the field may be a straightforward process is some cases, but more
difficult to mentally disentangle from the experience
- Some researchers question whether 1 truly leaves the field
o Emotional consequences may always be there
- Emotional consequences of withdrawing from the field have been documented across
research
o E.g., Leaving behind close relationships with participants & gatekeepers
o Feelings of indebtedness, betrayal, & relief have been noted
- The need for coping strategies & extraction policies for researchers exiting the field