Barone, Sabina;
Swain, Jon M;
(2025)
Using Informal Conversations in Qualitative Social Research With People in Situations of Marginalization and Vulnerability.
Sage Research Methods: Data and Research Literacy
10.4135/9781036221799.
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Abstract
This case study shows how informal conversations and conversational interviews are research-effective and ethically sound methods in qualitative social research, especially with participants living in conditions of social marginalization or vulnerability. These methods can enable adaptable, context-specific, and culturally sensitive dialogue with participants and reduce (though not eliminate) power asymmetries, thus cogenerating information that would not otherwise be accessible. However, these methods are also challenging since they demand the researcher’s high involvement with the participants, flexibility, and on-the-spot decisions. The case study is based on a doctoral research study about “voluntary” return migration programs through 19-month-long fieldwork in Morocco with West and Central African young men and mothers migrating with children. It first began by presenting the research context and aims. Second, it describes the research design and the role of informal conversations and conversational interviews in the data generation process. Third, it considers these methods’ ethical implications and practicalities, focusing on consent, transparency, and safeguarding. Fourth, it shows these methods ‘in action’ in three conversational situations during the fieldwork. Finally, it reflects on the benefits of a naturalistic and relational interview approach to generate meaningful information. Readers will gain contextualized knowledge and practical insights on the use of conversational interactions in research, understand the different forms of interview as a continuum in a broader “know-how” about dialoguing with participants, going beyond a rigid and clear-cut distinction of interview types, and consider the practicalities and convenience of including them in their research.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Using Informal Conversations in Qualitative Social Research With People in Situations of Marginalization and Vulnerability |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.4135/9781036221799 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.4135/9781036221799 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This version is the version of record. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. |
| Keywords: | Informal conversations, Conversational interviews, Qualitative Social Research, Vulnerability, Marginalisation |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education > IOE - Social Research Institute |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10210103 |
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