Doing Research on Sensitive Topics

by Raymond M Lee

• ISBN13: 9780803988613
• ISBN10: 0803988613
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1993-05-17
• Publisher: Sage Publications

Summary

"This text. . .suggests the reciprocity between the 'theory' and the practice of research. . . . The book reveals that. . . attention to 'sensitive' topics as the central focus of inquiry and evaluation is relatively recent. . . . The value of Raymond Lee's book is to demonstrate the breadth of what might be included in this category. . . . the book demonstrates how some important dimensions of 'sensitivity' have been dealt with on a naïve level." --Barbara Harrison in Journal of Interprofessional Care "The book offers communication researchers some of the best recent work on qualitative inquiry in the human disciplines. . . . Published by Sage, the leading publisher of qualitative research in the social sciences today. . . . This is an important book that deserves careful study. It moves the sociological voyeur into new regions of surveillance and subterfuge. . . . This work brings the communication scholar up-to-date on where qualitative methods are in current sociological and educational discourse." --Norman K. Denzin in Journal of Communication "The author, a British sociologist, has created an account of social research that is both wide ranging and eye opening. . . . The book makes clear that it is better to learn to manage sensitive issues than to avoid them by pursuing only safe lines of research." --Library and Information Science Report "A thought-provoking and fairly complete methodological study of risky social research. Raymond M. Lee's Doing Research on Sensitive Topics is more comprehensive, including as it does detailed approaches for those who choose to examine controversial issues. . . . Out of the numerous case studies that he touches upon emerge important methodological, ethical, and personal concerns, most of which are dealt with straightforwardly and in detail. The thirty-two page bibliography alone is a gold mine for those wishing to follow up on topics introduced here. Among his more valuable observations, Lee notes that no research is so innocuous that 'sensitivity' is not a concern. His point is a crucial one. . . . He presents extensive expositions on how to resolve the particular problems that those undertaking sensitive research may encounter. . . . A pragmatic, traditional approach to the subject matter." --Contemporary Sociology "This monograph is a great follow-up to another Sage book: Researching Sensitive Topics (edited by Raymond M. Lee along with Claire Renzetti). --Prepublication Review in Clinical Gerontologist "Raymond M. Lee's introduction . . . is timely and welcome. . . . [The book] is useful because it brings together material that is rather disparate in the literature on social science methodology. This will be useful for Ph.D. students and those embarking on field research for the first time." --The Times Higher For researchers looking for a comprehensive guide to the methodological, ethical, and practical issues involved in undertaking research on sensitive topics, look no further than Doing Research on Sensitive Topics. In this well-written volume, Lee introduces researchers to the subject of sensitive research and addresses the question of what makes research contentious. He considers the relationship between research and issues of social or political power, the capacity of research to encroach on people's lives, and the potential implications researching sensitive topics may have for the researcher. Covering both quantitative and qualitative methods, Lee offers advice on such key questions as the choice of methodologies for sensitive research and the problems of estimating the size of hidden populations. He also examines the political and ethical problems inherent in the relations between the researcher and the researched, and in the disclosure, dissemination, and publication of research.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Limits on Inquiry

Estimating the Size of Hidden Populations

Sampling Rare or Deviant Populations

Asking Sensitive Questions on Surveys

Asking Sensitive Questions

Interviewing

The Access Process in Research on Sensitive Topics

Covert, Adversarial and Collaborative Research

Handling Sensitive Data

Disclosure and Dissemination in Research on Sensitive Topics

Conclusion