Recruiting cisgender, heterosexual young men for research participation can be a difficult endeavour. This is more challenging with qualitative research studies that require substantial time commitment, or be of a sensitive nature, such as discussions of sex, intimacy, and emotion. These challenges can be amplified with the shift to online data…

Retaining participants in longitudinal studies is important but challenging when retracing them after a substantial gap between study phases. Utilising our nine year mixed-methods longitudinal study of 54 families affected by paternal imprisonment, we qualitatively analysed our processes and experiences of retracing participants after a seven year…

This paper considers the ethical and practical issues of recruiting for, and administering a quantitative survey with marginalised populations. These issues were identified through a focus group discussion, which consolidated and expanded upon informal conversations held previously by five researchers about their experiences of conducting a…

Most of the social science research is based on the implied assumption that measurement error is the same across key socio-demographic groups and all differences in key statistics of interest are real. Nevertheless, there is evidence that this is not the case. In this paper, the authors tackle this important topic by investigating if data quality…

This study explored whether the interviewers' judgments of respondents' performances in an initial survey can predict survey participation for a second survey among the same group of respondents in a panel study. Specifically, this study examined two interviewer variables: the interviewers' judgments of (1) the respondents' understanding of survey…

This paper addresses two interrelated questions concerning what interview data are and how researchers might use them. The first considers the value of a shift from a predominant or exclusive focus upon how data are constructed and produced at interview, and towards how such data might be apprehended through different forms of…

This paper aims to gain a better understanding of co-creative research key principles and their enactment in real-life practices. The study is based on interviews and a focus group with academic researchers and professionals (n = 16) involved in eight co-creative research projects funded by the Brussels Regional Institute for Research and…

How do research participants feel about having their 'ordinary' lives researched? This article focuses on how research participants manage the sharing of details emerging "out of" their ordinary lives in the context of research -- an activity which, for most, is "outside of" the ordinary. Despite two significant research turns…

Introduction: Web-based epidemiologic surveys are being widely used, but still present lower response rates compared to traditional methods. Their design can influence survey response rates. Objective: Analyse the influence of questionnaire length, frequency of reminders, and the interaction between them, on the response rates of five web-based…

This short piece considers how participant recruitment can have ethical elements. With reference to a qualitative research project on asexuality we explore the challenges associated with recruiting from an emerging, and politically charged, identity group. In our attempt to broaden the representation of asexual stories we sought to recruit people…

This article contributes to a growing literature that takes a more nuanced approach to exploring the complexities of relationships and negotiations with gatekeepers. Using our study of young people living with a parent at the end of life as a 'critical case' of sensitive qualitative research, we discuss how far from being a smooth, linear process,…

We use an experiment based on the relationship dynamics and social life study of sexual behavior, pregnancy, and contraceptive use to investigate whether participation in weekly self-reports over one year result in differential effects on related behaviors and attitudes, compared to participation in a one-time follow-up interview requiring…