Chapter 10: Working with Marginalised, Vulnerable or Privileged Groups

Working with Marginalised, Vulnerable or Privileged Groups

By now you will be well aware that fieldwork in the developing world can present difficult practical, ethical and personal challenges. When the subjects of research are marginalised groups,1 the challenges look even more foreboding. How should you behave when you are interacting with people who are obviously much poorer than you, or who are minority ethnic groups, lower-class women, or children? How will they react to you? We must be sensitive if we are to carry out ethical and worthwhile research involving marginalised peoples. hooks (1990: 151–152) indicates that for too long research on the marginalised has been carried out in an oppressive manner: