Studies of socially vulnerable groups: motivation, involvement, effects. Types of projects, formats and ways of interaction
On December 12, 2023, Elena R. Iarskaia-Smirnova delivered an online lecture on the topic "Research of socially vulnerable groups: motivation, involvement, effects. Types of projects, formats and ways of interaction" for graduate students and staff of Sirius University of Science and Technology.
The lecture was held in an interactive format and included three sections: approaches to interviewing people with mental disabilities, the problem of refusing to participate in the study, and participatory methods.
Initially, the lecturer and the participants discussed aspects of preparing, organizing and conducting interviews with people with mental characteristics. These aspects affect the characteristics of the interviewer, the compilation of tools, the choice of time and place, the preparation of the data collection procedure, and communication in the field situation. In addition, it is important not to miss such sensitive points as the organization's policy regarding disclosure of information, emotional reaction to certain topics, the need or undesirability of the participation of third parties.
A special issue is communication strategies in the preparation of the interview guide and in the process of field work: there is already a whole system of recommendations on this subject developed by foreign colleagues. In addition, Elena provided the audience with examples of instructions to a trusted person taking part in the interview. The lecture also discussed examples from current projects of the ILSIR , the experience of field research with informants who have certain communication features. Special emphasis was placed on the methods of visual support, including alternative and additional communication during the interview.
The audience was interested in the problem of refusing to study some groups of informants, for example, parents of children with mental disabilities. The participants expressed their assumptions about the causes and shared possible ways to solve such problems. Then Elena shared her systematic thoughts on the reasons for the rejection of the study, including the specifics of the formulation of questions, their relevance, the feeling of alienation of the study from the real problems of respondents, the disproportionality of efforts, goals and motives, as well as a sense of power imbalance.
Having separately focused on the methodology and examples of the use of photo-voice, she moved on to consider participatory approaches that create an alternative to the classical methodology, which is necessary in some cases. The origins, goals, principles, and empirical methods of PAR – participatory and actionist research were presented in the last part of the lecture based on a literary review and analysis of the experience gained through participation in a number of projects.
At the end of the lecture, Elena discussed with the audience such important problems of PAR as the degree of participation of people, including those with mental characteristics, at different stages of the research cycle, ways to share the knowledge gained, as well as the question of methodological rigor of such studies, which worries many.