Qualitative Research on Interpersonal Violence: Guidance for Early Career Scholars

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to offer early career violence scholars guidance on critical aspects of qualitative research, including methodological integrity and research procedures. Throughout this article, we center our discussion on issues of methodological fit, flexibility, safety, and ethics. We overview paradigmatic frameworks that guide methodological decisions and discuss reasons why researchers might choose to use qualitative methods. We then address decisions around recruitment, sampling, and saturation as well as predata collection preparations for conducting interview-based studies. Participant and research team safety and ethics are emphasized, as these issues should be at the core of all decisions in interpersonal violence research. Along with examples from the field of interpersonal violence, we provide references to relevant resources on paradigmatic frameworks, specific qualitative research approaches, and safety and ethics. Throughout, we draw from our lessons learned as qualitative researchers, teachers, and mentors who study intimate partner violence and young adult children exposed to marital violence.

“They Didn’t Ask.” Rural Women With Disabilities and Experiences of Violence Describe Interactions With the Healthcare System

“…We posted study announcements in ways that allowed women to initiate contact with the research team, a best practice to ensure safety and avoid coercion (Hardesty et al, 2019). We distributed study announcements to disability-related agencies, and through disability-led organizations.…”

Why Do School Staff Sometimes Fail to Report Potential Victimization Cases? A Mixed-methods Study

“…The study was presented to a referent person by the first author, discussing aims, conditions, and compensations personally or by phone. Following previous suggestions by other authors (Hardesty et al, 2019), flexibility along the procedure was allowed within the defined research structure, to adapt properly to the school preferences and value participants’ time and collaboration. Each designated school contact chose whether they preferred a printed or an online survey (49.45% of participants used the online format) and in which language (Spanish or Catalan: 79.35% chose to answer in Catalan).…”

A scoping review of recommendations in the English language on conducting research with trauma-exposed populations since publication of the Belmont report; thematic review of existing recommendations on research with trauma-exposed populations

“…For a more detailed discussion on reducing participants' vulnerability to violence or distress from research participation please see: Ahlin (2019) [89], Kyegombe et al (2019) [146], and Pickles (2020) [83] for recommendations on obtaining assent from minors in vulnerable positions, Ahlin (2019) [89] and Dehghan & Wilson (2018) [88] for recommendations on handling consent or asset when potential participants may feel pressured to participate, Kimberg (2018) [91] and Sullivan & Cain (2004) [43] for recommendations pertaining to domestic violence, Allden et al (2009) [51] for recommendations pertaining to political violence and stigmatization threats, Amin and Garcia-Moreno (2018) [147] for recommendations pertaining to disclosure of sexual abuse, and Linabary & Corple (2019) [85] for recommendations concerning online research and privacy. Recommendations for minimizing the possibility of harm from data collection distress included providing resources for participants through accountable, acceptable, and available quality referrals (either through lists or proactive referrals) [27,31,51,72,73,86,92,[94][95][96], and monitoring participants' emotional well-being during and following data collection [30,44,71,73,75,79,82,97].…”

“…Do not leave study-related messages. Do not give more information about the study until you know that it is safe to do so[43, 72,86,91,93].Find culturally and politically acceptable support available locally. Offer participants referrals even if they choose not to participate.…”