A Critical Dialogue on Ethics and Practices for Digital Research with “Difficult” to Reach Populations

ABSTRACT The panel examines approaches to working with “difficult”‐to‐reach populations across all stages of the qualitative research process, beginning with project scoping and obtaining the institutional review board approval to member checking with participants and reporting out findings. The panel identifies tension between institutional mandates for research and the ethical commitments scholars make to their participants and those participants’ broader communities. Avoiding a perfect solution to ethical methods of research, this panel instead identifies strategies and tools for ensuring that such research affirms and enhances the lived experiences of these populations, while avoiding extractive and deficit‐based models of scholarly inquiry. The panel utilizes case studies from the respective panelists about their challenges and successes working with “difficult”‐to‐reach populations. The panel includes a group discussion led by the panelists on pending questions of researching with “difficult”‐to‐reach populations. This group discussion will involve an opportunity for members of the audience to ask questions and share their experiences with similar research endeavors. To make the most of the time together, the panelists will also compile resources highlighted within the group discussions and share those resources with attendees during and after the conference.