Abstract
Research that explores vulnerable populations and/or sensitive topics presents a set of unique challenges and complexities. These need to be considered carefully and addressed during every stage of the project: planning, recruitment, data collection and analysis. More specifically, when fieldwork takes place, several ethical dilemmas begin to arise. This chapter focuses on exploring some of these quandaries from a personal perspective. Through a reflective lens, I look back at the fieldwork undertaken for two different projects to discuss some of the methodological challenges and, more specifically, ethical complexities. Both projects explored the sensitive topic of women experiencing homelessness due to domestic and family violence. The chapter highlights issues such as emotional safety, confidentiality and privacy, trust, representation, objectivity, and power dynamics. I consider what role my personal values, beliefs, and emotions played in the research I conducted. In addition, in my discussion, I also distinguish between undertaking research in controlled, versus unpredictable settings.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2020). Policy framework for reducing homelessness and service response. AIHW. https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/homelessness-services/shs-annual-report-18-19/contents/policy-framework-for-reducing-homelessness-and-service-response?generatedpdf=true&jobid=83278&jobtoken=f44e25a1107041bdafdbf04aa19824b5
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2023). Family, domestic and sexual violence. Retrieved from https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/domestic-violence/family-domestic-and-sexual-violence
Birks, M., & Mills, J. (2015). Grounded theory: A practical guide. SAGE.
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101.
Braun, V., Clarke, V., & Terry, G. (2014). Thematic analysis. Qualitative Research in Clinical Health Psychology, 24, 95–114.
Brewer, D. (2000). Ethnography. Open University Press.
Bryman, A. (2004). Social research methods (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press.
Chamberlain, C., & Johnson, G. (2001). The debate about homelessness. Australian Journal of Social Issues, 36(1), 35–50.
Chamberlain, C., & MacKenzie, D. (1992). Understanding contemporary homelessness: Issues of definition and meaning. Australian Journal of Social Issues, 27(4), 274–297.
Chamberlain, C., & MacKenzie, D. (2009). Counting the homeless 2006: Queensland. AIHW. https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/hou/205/counting-homeless-2006-queensland/contents/summary
Collins, R. C. (1990). Stratification, emotional energy, and the transient emotions. In T. D. Kemper (Ed.), Research agendas in the sociology of emotions (pp. 27–57). State University of New York Press.
Corbin, J. M., & Strauss, A. L. (2008). Basics of qualitative research: Techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory (3rd ed.). SAGE.
Council on Federal Financial Relations. (2018). National Housing and homelessness agreement. CFFR. https://federalfinancialrelations.gov.au/agreements/national-housing-and-homelessness-agreement-0
Davies, C. A. (2008). Reflexive ethnography: A guide to researching selves and others (2nd ed.). Routledge.
Denzin, N. K., & Lincoln, Y. S. (2008). The landscape of qualitative research (3rd ed.). SAGE.
Emerson, R. M., Fretz, R. I., & Shaw, L. L. (2001). Participant observation and fieldnotes. In P. Atkinson, A. Coffey, S. Delamont, J. Lofland, & L. Lofland (Eds.), Handbook of ethnography (pp. 352–368). SAGE.
Hammersley, M. (1989). The dilemma of qualitative research. Herbert Blumer and the Chicago Tradition, Routledge.
Hammersley, M., & Atkinson, P. (2007). Ethnography: Principles in practice (3rd ed.). Routledge.
Hurd, T. L. (1998). Process, content, and feminist reflexivity: One researcher’s exploration. Journal of Adult Development, 5(3), 195–203.
Lamont, M., & White, P. (2009). Workshop on interdisciplinary standards for systematic qualitative research. National Science Foundation.
Liamputtong, P., & Ezzy, D. (2005). Qualitative research methods. Oxford University Press.
Martin, R., & Kunnen, N. (2008). Reinterpreting the research path: Using qualitative methods in homelessness research. In P. J. Maginn, S. Thompson, & M. Tonts (Eds.), Qualitative housing analysis: An international perspective (Vol. 10, pp. 61–89). Studies in Qualitative Methodology, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
Menih, H. (2013). Applying ethical principles in researching a vulnerable population: Homeless women in Brisban. Special issue of Current Issues in Criminal Justice Journal, 25(1), 527–539.
Menih, H. (2020). “Come night-time, it’s a war zone”: Women experiencing homelessness’s experiences of risk and space. British Journal of Criminology, 60(5), 1136–1154.
Menih, H. (2021). Domestic violence and homelessness amongst women (pp. 157–171). TK Shackelford, The SAGE Handbook of Domestic Violence, SAGE.
Morawski, J. (1990). Toward the unimagined: Feminism and epistemology in psychology. In R. T. Hare-Mustin & J. Marecek (Eds.), Making a difference: Psychology and the construction of gender (pp. 150–183). Yale University Press.
Payne, G., & Payne, J. (2004). Key concepts in social research. SAGE.
Rose, J., & Johnson, C. (2017). Homelessness, nature, and health: Toward a feminist political ecology of masculinities. Gender, Place & Culture, 24(7), 991–1010.
Ryan, G. W., & Bernard, H. R. (2003). Techniques to identify themes. Field Methods, 15(1), 85–109.
Schensul, S. L., Schensul, J. J., & LeCompte, M. D. (1999). Essential ethnographic methods: Observations, interviews, and questionnaires. AltaMira Press.
Spradley, J. P. (1980). Participant observation. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich College Publishers.
Terui, S., & Hsieh, E. (2016). “Not homeless yet. I’m kind of couch surfing”: Finding identities for people at a homeless shelter. Social Work in Public Health, 31(7), 688–699.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Menih, H. (2023). Challenges and Complexities When Researching Vulnerable Populations and Sensitive Topics: Working with Women Experiencing Violence and Homelessness. In: Díaz-Fernández, A.M., Del-Real, C., Molnar, L. (eds) Fieldwork Experiences in Criminology and Security Studies. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-41574-6_7
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-41574-6_7
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-41573-9
Online ISBN: 978-3-031-41574-6
eBook Packages: Behavioral Science and PsychologyBehavioral Science and Psychology (R0)