Research with formerly incarcerated mothers: Considering former prisoners’ vulnerabilities with feminist rhetorical research practices

Drawing from my experience conducting in-depth interviews and focus groups with formerly incarcerated mothers in the United States, this article encourages qualitative researchers to consider former prisoners a vulnerable population and offers feminist rhetorical methods and methodologies as a theoretical framework for navigating the tensions research creates for former prisoners. While former prisoners possess more agency than the incarcerated, the stigma of imprisonment in combination with the race, gender, and class-based barriers they face put former prisoners at a social disadvantage. These social disadvantages, in combination with their marginalized identities, can limit former prisoners’ autonomy, impair their ability to weigh the risks of participating in research, and negatively impact their willingness to disclose their experiences during data collection. This article describes how using methods and methodologies designed to recognize participants’ vulnerabilities can help mitigate consequential challenges, such as recruiting barriers, unequal power dynamics between researchers and participants, and fostering reciprocity.