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Negotiating gatekeepers and positionality in building trust for accessing the urban poor in the Global South

Lutfun Nahar Lata (School of Social Science, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia)

Qualitative Research Journal

ISSN: 1443-9883

Article publication date: 1 July 2020

Issue publication date: 19 January 2021

357

Abstract

Purpose

This paper explores the importance of building trust and rapport with participants using gatekeepers and insider-outsider dynamics in accessing vulnerable research participants in the Global South.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper draws data from a qualitative case study conducted in Sattola slum in Dhaka.

Findings

Findings suggest that access to participants can be gained through building rapport and trust with participants. A trusting relationship further helps the researcher to explore the processes of social exclusion experienced by the participants.

Originality/value

Few studies is published on female researchers building trust with vulnerable research participants negotiating gatekeepers and their subjectivity in the field. The paper contributes original insights into this from fieldwork carried out by a middle-class female researcher in Dhaka. It raises important issues in securing the trust of participants when they are part of disadvantaged, exploited or generally vulnerable populations.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Dr Peter Walters for his comments and suggestions on the paper. Special thanks to my research participants without whom this research would not have been possible.Funding: The research was funded through an Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship.

Citation

Lata, L.N. (2021), "Negotiating gatekeepers and positionality in building trust for accessing the urban poor in the Global South", Qualitative Research Journal, Vol. 21 No. 1, pp. 76-86. https://doi.org/10.1108/QRJ-03-2020-0017

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited

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