Reaching out in Research: Challenges and Strategies for Work with Vulnerable and Reluctant Participants

Social work researchers seek to understand human experiences and increase well-being, often focusing on marginalized or oppressed groups, and/or those not centered in mainstream discourse -- communities that may be difficult to engage in research. Logistical barriers may complicate recruitment, including distance from research institutions or issues of physical or cognitive disability -- or participants may, for a variety of reasons, be reluctant to engage in research at all.

There are many sources of participant reluctance. Some groups experience vulnerability related to stigma (e.g., around health or mental health) or concerns about negative outcomes of participation (e.g., among people who use IV drugs, immigrant communities, or survivors of domestic abuse). Others may mistrust the intentions of researchers due to historical abuses by the scientific community (e.g., among transgender and gender diverse, Racialized, Indigenous, and/or Disabled populations). Still others may be uncertain of the value of scientific research in their community (e.g., rural populations or multiply stressed households), or suspicious of specific study questions.

Researchers should consider participants' needs, priorities and concerns throughout the research process, from study design to dissemination of findings. For studies focusing on the experiences of populations who are hesitant about participation, failing to understand and address concerns can lead to a range of complications in the research process, including undersampling and drawn out recruitment processes. At the extreme, inability to overcome participant reluctance may render questions unanswerable -- if the population of interest is unwilling or unable to share their experiences, insights into their lives will simply not be available. Even when research does not rely on specific participant groups, diverse samples strengthen inference and broaden the applicability of findings; all social work research will benefit from careful attention to sample composition and the lived experiences of actual participants, including why they may be more or less comfortable with participation and strategies to increase their willingness and engage with both individual and community priorities.

This roundtable will explore the difficulties and rewards of conducting research with reluctant populations, and strategies to ensure diverse samples across empirical research. We invite social work researchers to consider questions including: "What are my participants' priorities?", "How can I balance community priorities with resource limitations and rigorous research?" and "What are the challenges and opportunities at each step of the research process?". We begin with a discussion of challenges across the research process and potential strategies to address them, acknowledging the push-and-pull of competing priorities. Presenters will then draw on their unique experiences conducting research with a variety of vulnerable populations to discuss ideas for ensuring participant well-being and engaging in collaborative research practices, and both common challenges and the unique paths taken to overcome them. The session will end with time for questions and audience discussion.

Attendees will leave with an awareness of different sources of reluctance from potential research participants, challenges and strategies at different stages of the research process, and the importance of attending to participant priorities and ensuring diverse samples in social work research.