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Abstract
This study develops guidelines for conducting qualitative research with refugees and asylum seekers in Western host countries by examining how participants' vulnerabilities should inform research practices. The guidelines are derived from a critical review of literature on qualitative research with vulnerable groups, particularly refugees, and the author's experience as a forced migration researcher with a displacement background. The study underscores how asylum seekers' vulnerabilities, shaped by acculturation challenges and exposure to trauma in their countries-of-origin, during their asylum journeys, and in host societies, influence both the interview process and the dissemination of findings. Key recommendations emphasize the need to account for asylum seekers’ distinct societal and cultural contexts, topics of concern, the risk of re-traumatization, social and political divisions among asylum seekers, and variations in refugee family adaptation. These factors should guide qualitative interview procedures, including decisions related to interview locations, participant selection, interview topics, and the publication of results. Ultimately, this research advocates for a more nuanced understanding of refugee vulnerability and provides actionable insights to enhance qualitative research methodologies involving forced migrants.
Keywords
forced migration, qualitative research, refugee interviews, refugee vulnerability, interview procedure
Publication Date
7-7-2025
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.
DOI
10.46743/2160-3715/2025.7585
Recommended APA Citation
Al Ajlan, A. (2025). Interviewing refugees and asylum seekers: Study guidelines for forced migration researchers. The Qualitative Report, 30(6), 3800-3819. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2025.7585
ORCID ID
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6177-972X
