Practical and Ethical Dilemmas in Researching Sensitive Topics with Populations Considered Vulnerable

• Other Authors: Hilário, Ana Patrícia (Editor), Augusto, Fábio Rafael (Editor)
• Format: Electronic Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: Basel, Switzerland MDPI - Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute 2020
• Subjects: Humanities; Social interaction; Social & cultural anthropology, ethnography; ethics; sensitive research; reflexivity; qualitative methods; emotional risk; qualitative method; children; autism spectrum disorders; methodological challenges; research ethics; ethical sensibility; stereotypes; stereotyped reasoning; research with children; qualitative research; focus groups; social research; visual methods; sensitive topics; vulnerable populations; chronic pain; medical anthropology; social housing; vulnerability; social suffering; good intentions; austerity; cognitive interviewing; transgender identity; survey methods; gender identity; sexual identity; categorization; disability; ethnicity; intersectionality; relational ethics; researcher vulnerability; emotional labor; homeless people; maternity care; healthcare; doctors; perinatal center; suffering; human embryo in vitro; infertility; shadowing; research methodology; CYP; paediatric patients; interviews; chronic illness; brain tumours; child protection; child participation; children's competence to consent; parental consent; research on violence against children; victimisation studies
• Online Access: DOAB: download the publication; DOAB: description of the publication

This book seeks to support social science researchers who interact with vulnerability and/or sensitivity in the context of their research. Whilst there has been some important debate about the theoretical, methodological and ethical issues of conducting research on sensitive topics, and/or with vulnerable populations, the number of scholarly publications focused solely on these topics is limited and not up to date. The book intends to fill this gap by providing various research experiences, as well as the elements that characterize them. The articles selected for this book intend, first and foremost, to stimulate reflexivity amongst the use of the concepts of sensitive topics and vulnerable groups, and to provide tools that will allow researchers to improve their research practices The book integrates several articles that explore a wide range of dilemmas that, to a certain extent, might allow the reader to access the backstage of this type of research. The reader will find here a rich and fruitful space for theoretical and empirical reflection, where several social science researchers with different backgrounds share their experiences and research paths in a rigorous and creative way.