The Influence of Local Culture on Recruitment and Participation in Qualitative Research
Location
1049
Format Type
Event
Format Type
Paper
Start Date
January 2018
End Date
January 2018
Abstract
“We don’t allow these people in here,” said the librarian in small town in northernmost New York when she read the recruiting poster for my study. This was the first, but not the last, disparaging remark about candidates or participants I heard while conducting my phenomenological study of sleep behavior among emerging adults living in rural poverty. I propose to present my lived experience as a qualitative researcher in an environment hostile to the population on which I focused and intellectual endeavors in general.
The work involved bracketing my feelings of surprise, fear, and anger in a way that allowed me to interact with people who could help me gain access to candidates for my study, e.g. librarians, convenience store owners. As I moved through this process I became aware that the comments being made, however harsh, contained valuable data on multiple aspects of my study including the participants and their behavior.
This awareness provided context for receiving calls from candidates and made me sensitive to hearing hesitation about committing to participate in the study. In addition, awareness of this context prompted me to delve deeper into the subtle influences of the culture of rural poverty on health behaviors to include sleep.
The proposed presentation will cover the impact of environment on the researcher, the processes used to recruit marginalized participants, and the influence of local culture on conducting research.
The Influence of Local Culture on Recruitment and Participation in Qualitative Research
1049
“We don’t allow these people in here,” said the librarian in small town in northernmost New York when she read the recruiting poster for my study. This was the first, but not the last, disparaging remark about candidates or participants I heard while conducting my phenomenological study of sleep behavior among emerging adults living in rural poverty. I propose to present my lived experience as a qualitative researcher in an environment hostile to the population on which I focused and intellectual endeavors in general.
The work involved bracketing my feelings of surprise, fear, and anger in a way that allowed me to interact with people who could help me gain access to candidates for my study, e.g. librarians, convenience store owners. As I moved through this process I became aware that the comments being made, however harsh, contained valuable data on multiple aspects of my study including the participants and their behavior.
This awareness provided context for receiving calls from candidates and made me sensitive to hearing hesitation about committing to participate in the study. In addition, awareness of this context prompted me to delve deeper into the subtle influences of the culture of rural poverty on health behaviors to include sleep.
The proposed presentation will cover the impact of environment on the researcher, the processes used to recruit marginalized participants, and the influence of local culture on conducting research.
Comments
Breakout Session C