Research Design, Participant Safety and Eligibility: Resolving Ethical and Methodological Challenges When Researching with Minority Populations

• In Event: Methodological Issues in Queer Community Research

Abstract

This paper provides an analysis of the issues of recruiting LGBTIQ student participants to a research project concerning experiences of harassment and victimisation in tertiary settings. The authors detail challenges behind the development of the project, methodological concerns with recruitment, ethical concerns, and the safety of participants. The paper illustrates how the utilisation of feminist and queer theory has impacted the process of conducting research, including the use of qualitative markers, the dilemmas of risk and safety in the ethical design and the challenges of determining identity and experience eligibility. The authors point to ways of continual reflexive improvement as elements of best practice for those seeking to research minority populations, and in projects marked by the participation of some members deemed vulnerable and high risk.

Authors

• James Roffee, Monash University

• Andrea Waling, La Trobe University