Conducting research into hidden or hard-to-reach populations

Abstract

Problems with sampling must be examined and discussed. Well-evaluated but limited research data are preferable to no information from groups that are hidden and hard to reach. IMPLICATIONS FOR RESEARCH OR PRACTICE: Engaging these populations in research can further professionals' understanding of service provision.

Reaching the hard-to-reach: a systematic review of strategies for improving health and medical research with socially disadvantaged groups

“…Socially disadvantaged groups were defined as socially, culturally or financially disadvantaged compared to the majority of society, implying individual, environmental or social restrictions to their opportunities to participate in health research [8-10]. In order to capture a broad representation of evidence, qualitative, quantitative, mixed methods, case studies and literature reviews were included.…”

“…According to Sydor’s [8] definition that “hard to reach populations are difficult for researchers to access” , and Lambert and Wiebel’s [9] definition of hidden populations as “those who are disadvantaged and disenfranchised: the homeless and transient, chronically mentally ill, high school drop-outs, criminal offenders, prostitutes, juvenile delinquents, gang members, runaways and other street people”, socially disadvantaged groups are difficult for researchers to access cost-efficiently in large numbers necessary for statistically powerful study designs. There are many reasons why socially disadvantaged groups are not included in health and medical research.…”

Ethnography: Separating Your Different Selves in a Covert Field Study of So-Called “Status Dog” Owners

“…Anna Sydor (2013) points out that they might not be willing to participate because of the research topic or are not accessed by more conventional means because of their lifestyle. Access to such groups and how to ensure their participation in research must therefore be considered.…”

“…Anna Sydor (2013) points out that the gathered information might be biased and not representative of the whole group, but also that this information is still better than no information at all. With regard to this project, those walking their "status" dog in public places and not at night can be considered to be the non-problematic or less problematic owners that have not been previously studied and were precisely those I wanted to target.…”

“…Another problem is that it is not possible to tell how large the group actually is (Sydor 2013). It is therefore not possible to estimate how much of "status" dog ownership is problematic or not.…”