Qualitative Research in Communities of Color: A Discussion of Challenges Experienced, Strategies Employed, and Lessons Learned

In its quest to improve social work practice and design interventions aimed at reaching a broader swath of its diverse clientele, the social work discipline continues to recognize and encourage research with(in) underserved communities of color.  While quantitative research is better able to reach a larger number of members of these groups, qualitative research is better positioned to investigate the nuances of the members’ lived experiences. 

While there are a number of benefits to conducting qualitative research in these underserved communities, researchers frequently encounter challenges ranging from access to community members to getting participants to speak on topics that they and/or their communities deem as private or taboo.  These barriers can discourage and/or demoralize scholars, particularly those early in their careers. However, it is important for novice researchers to persevere in order to amplify voices often silenced or ignored in the literature as well as create and build new theory designed to better understand and serve these underserved populations.  Thus, a group of junior faculty members engaging in qualitative research with(in) communities of color have designed a roundtable with the hope of providing the space for dialogue around these concerns.

The roundtable will begin with a broad discussion of the challenges and benefits involved when conducting qualitative research, particularly with(in) communities of color.  Individual presenters will then discuss the specific challenges experienced, strategies employed, and lessons learned when they conducted qualitative research with(in) Black American, Asian American, American Indian, and Latino communities.  Presenter #1 will speak about conducting qualitative interviews with Black Americans about their experiences with depression, help-seeking and mental health service use.  She will not only talk about how she managed seemingly insurmountable obstacles carrying out work on this topic with this population but also describe the sense of liberation participants experienced after sharing their illness narratives.  Presenter #2 will discuss her research on intimate partner violence (IPV) in Korean American communities, especially the use of community institutions to gain access to this population and how focus groups can be utilized to promote collective actions to address IPV.  Presenter #3 will focus on her collaborations with American Indian elders, specifically the complexity of working in a reservation context while collecting life histories and narratives about the social and environmental determinants of health.  Presenter #4 will relate her research on disparities in autism diagnosis and treatment among Latino children and families to service delivery policies and autism-specific policies that impact the recruitment and participation of families in her qualitative work on culturally informed parent psychoeducation programs.  Presenter #5 will share her experience working as a “white ally” with American Indian researchers leading federally funded, culturally grounded and historical trauma informed behavioral health intervention research in American Indian communities.  The goal is to encourage other researchers to share their experiences conducting qualitative research with(in) communities of color, enabling them to exchange and gain knowledge regarding the research process with these groups and to arrive at specific strategies to address the challenges encountered when working with their specific populations.