Qualitative Research for Sensitive Issues

This course will be open to anyone who is interested or has experience of working and researching groups that would be deemed sensitive. 

In this course, we will provide an in-depth understanding on adopting qualitive methods to research sensitive topics and groups. 

In this session, we will aim to explore different qualitative methods that will address issues of sensitivity and identify practical ways to collect data and disseminate on topics like identity, deprivation, inequalities, violence or abuse, institutional power, and wider forms of structural issues that are sensitive. 

The course will introduce a range of traditional and creative qualitative methods; and how they can be used to discuss sensitive issues through practical examples and in your own research design.

In addition we will explore the opportunities and challenges faced by researchers using qualitative methods to explore sensitive issues with participants, and how to overcome those challenges.

This session will explore the ethical considerations when discussing sensitive issues with participants and we will explore how power dynamics, safeguarding and data protection needs to be considered within the research design. 

This part of the session will also discuss the importance of reflexivity, and we will explore ways on how to capture your position in research, and ways to disseminate your experiences in the field. 

Lastly, we will discuss ways on how to disseminate and generate forms of impact on addressing sensitive issues. 

This will be an online interactive session with a small group. We will provide research case studies, practical exercises, and group discussions to facilitate this session. Learners will be provided with the opportunity to apply new concepts to their own research design, with support from course leaders.

We encourage those who are working and researching vulnerable groups and issues to attend this course. We also open this course to academics, independent researchers, practitioners, charity organisations, and those working in the civil service. 

Please note: this course does not cover the use of computer software programmes to assist qualitative data analysis. See events run by the CAQDAS networking project at the University of Surrey for training on specific CAQDAS packages.