The (Un)Questionable Challenges of Sample Access, Recruitment and Retention in Contemporary Workplace Bullying Research

Abstract

Scholarly research into sensitive topics such as workplace bullying is often circumscribed by a common methodological challenge: how to access, recruit and retain a sample population which is appropriate in size and representational in structure and which provides the researcher with the rich raw data necessary for robust and valid analysis (Johnston & Sabin, 2010; Misago & Landau, 2013; Volz & Heckathorn, 2008). Researchers who seek to better understand this complex interpersonal phenomenon must negotiate a traumatized and, sometimes, reluctant population who may be loath to revisit their distressing experiences of bullying or emotional abuse for the purposes of academic research. While acknowledging that researching sensitive topics presents complex ethical, moral and practical difficulties (Cohen & Arieli, 2011; Fahie, 2014; Einarsdottir, this volume), there is a consequential professional imperative that such studies are subject to systematic, rigorous and thorough methodological approaches. For those engaged in qualitative research on workplace bullying or harassment, the successful realization of a “good” sample—in terms of size and composition—remains a critical tension (Fahie, 2016; Fahie and Devine, 2014). Similarly, traditional quantitative researchers must also anticipate and, indeed, successfully resolve complex ethical and methodological dilemmas in order to ensure a scientifically appropriate response rate (Creswell, 2014; Fugard & Potts, 2015; Osborne, 2008). This chapter will examine these key methodological tensions for both quantitative and qualitative researchers, focussing specifically on accessing, recruiting and retaining an appropriate research population. The chapter concludes with some practical suggestions/advice for the researcher-in-the-field which draw upon the real-world experience of both authors.