Men on the margins? Reflections on recruiting and engaging men in reproduction research

Abstract

While social science research into reproduction is a vibrant and growing field of scholarly activity, the majority of research is conducted with women and focuses on women’s lives. Reproduction research which does focus on men tends to overlook aspects such as pre-conception desires for parenthood and planning. Scholars have argued for a greater inclusion of men in reproduction research, yet there is a paucity of methodological literature addressing how best to do so. This article reports methodological reflections from a qualitative study into men’s perceptions and intentions regarding the ‘right time’ to have children. It does this in reference to Critical Studies of Men and Masculinities – which foregrounds men as gendered beings and comprises the study of the gendered nature of men’s lives – as both a theoretical position influencing study conception and design and as an explanatory framework for enhancing understanding of the research encounter. The first part of the article describes the Critical Studies of Men and Masculinities–informed study conceptualisation and design, specifically the decisions to include unpartnered men in the sample and to address the absence of men in reproduction research in recruitment materials. It then goes on to discuss the most effective recruitment strategy employed, recruiting through informal gatekeepers, and to consider the consequences of this. The second part of the article presents data from the male participants pertaining to their stated motivations for participating, which relate to interest, helpfulness, and in response to perceived marginalisation, as well as their reflections on the interview encounter as enabling them to construct a narrative. It aims to extend knowledge and understanding regarding engaging men in reproduction research and to illustrate the utility of Critical Studies of Men and Masculinities for doing so, and in doing so to advance both reproduction research and discussions of Critical Studies of Men and Masculinities and methodology more broadly.

Men’s perceptions of sexual and reproductive health education within the context of pregnancy and HIV in Zambia: a descriptive qualitative analysis

“…Despite the time constraint, most men enjoyed having someone attentively listen to their views, and the interview provided opportunities for them to express their knowledge on reproductive health issues. We therefore call for more research with male partners on reproductive health issues as Law [ 41 ] also observes.…”

Searching the Internet for Infertility Information: A Survey of Patient Needs and Preferences

“…Research has also primarily focused on the experiences of infertile women, whereas less emphasis has been given to the needs and experiences of men. More research is needed to gauge the impact of Web-based resources other than forums on the needs of diverse infertility patients, especially men who tend to be underrepresented in infertility care and research [28,29] and whose needs for information and support may be different from those of women.…”

Biologically infallible? Men’s views on male age‐related fertility decline and sperm freezing

“…Multiple recruitment routes were utilised including recruiting personal contacts, recruitment via family, friends and colleagues, snowball sampling and advertising to various mailing lists, community groups and social media (see Law 2019). Maximum variation sampling was employed to strive for diversity within the sample in terms of age, relationship status, ethnicity and socioeconomic status (see Law 2019) in order to be inclusive of groups often marginalised in research (Culley et al . 2004) and of a range of perspectives.…”