Kalwant Bhopal - Researching Marginalized Groups

This edited collection explores issues that arise when researching hard-to-reach groups and those who remain socially excluded and marginalized in society, such as access, the use of gatekeepers, ethical dilemmas, voice, and how such research contributes to issues of inclusion and social justice. The book uses a wide range of empirical and theoretical approaches to examine the difficulties, dilemmas and complexities surrounding research methodologies with particular groups. It emphasizes the importance of national and international perspectives in such discussions, and suggests innovative methodological procedures.

Kalwant Bhopal is Professor of Education and Social Justice at the University of Southampton.

Ross Deuchar is Assistant Dean (Research, Enterprise and International) in the School of Education, University of the West of Scotland.

Routledge Advances in Research Methods

1 E-Research
Transformation in Scholarly Practice
Edited by Nicholas W. Jankowski

2 The Mutual Construction of Statistics and Society
Edited by Ann Rudinow Stnan, Heidi Mork Lomell, and Svein Hammer

3 Multi-Sited Ethnography
Problems and Possibilities in the Translocation of Research Methods
Edited by Simon Coleman and Pauline von Hellermann

4 Research and Social Change
A Relational Constructionist Approach
Sheila McNamee and Dian Marie Hosking

5 Meta-Regression Analysis in Economics and Business
T.D. Stanley and Hristos Doucouliagos

6 Knowledge and Power in Collaborative Research
A Reflexive Approach
Edited by Louise Phillips, Marianne Kristiansen, Marja Vehvilinen and Ewa Gunnarsson

7 The Emotional Politics of Research Collaboration
Edited by Gabriele Griffin, Annelie Brnstrm-hman and Hildur Kalman

8 The Social Politics of Research Collaboration
Edited by Gabriele Griffin, Katarina Hamberg and Britta Lundgren

9 Place in Research
Theory, Methodology, and Methods
Eve Tuck and Marcia McKenzie

10 Video Methods
Social Science Research in Motion
Edited by Charlotte Bates

11 Qualitative Analysis in the Making
Edited by Daniella Kuzmanovic and Andreas Bandak

12 Non-Representational Methodologies
Re-Envisioning Research
Edited by Phillip Vannini

13 Cultural Mapping as Cultural Inquiry
Edited by Nancy Duxbury, W.F. Garrett-Petts and David MacLennan

14 Researching Marginalized Groups
Edited by Kalwant Bhopal and Ross Deuchar

Edited by Kalwant Bhopal and Ross Deuchar

First published 2016
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Researching marginalized groups / edited by Kalwant Bhopal and Ross Deuchar.
pages cm. (Routledge advances in research methods; 14)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Marginality, SocialResearchMethodology. 2. SociologyMethodology. I. Bhopal, Kalwant. II. Deuchar, Ross.
HM1136.R47 2015
301.01dc23
2015011519

ISBN: 978-1-138-82403-4 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-74078-2 (ebk)

Typeset in Sabon
by Apex CoVantage, LLC

Our thanks go to all the authors from around the world who have contributed their unique and expert insights to the chapters within this edited collection.

Particular thanks go to Lisa Borchardt for all her work on the index for the collection.

We are especially grateful to all the participants in the research projects outlined in the chapters, who often lead their lives on the margins of our societyand to whom this collection is dedicated.

Researching Marginalised Groups: Complexities and Dilemmas

Kalwant Bhopal and Ross Deuchar

As academics we have been involved in different aspects of research for all of our working lives; during this time we have noted that the research process is fraught with tensions at every stage. For us, this has almost always included making ethical and moral decisions. The process has also caused us much anxiety when we have confronted our own difficulties and dilemmas when researching those who remain marginalised (and often those who are in situations or communities who have less voice and power than ourselves). Whilst we accept that our capacity to do research with an individual is a privilege extended to us by the research subject (Cournoyer and Klein, 2000: 18), we are always left to question, how has our research affected the communities that we have intruded upon, taken up their time and then left? Have we unconsciously exploited them? Are they better or worse off than they were before we entered their lives? After we have left the communities, do we ever think about them againother than to write about their lives? What effect have our identities as a working class, British Indian female (Kalwant) and a White working class Scottish male (Ross) had on the research process? Ross himself has had to deal with such issues when researching gang violence, which has affected his values and attitudes towards research as well as his personal appearance when confronting ethical and moral dilemmas in his research. Does the quest for knowledge override all of these issues? Should we always use our research to provide evidence to influence policy and practice for those who remain marginalised? And how often does this really happen?