Cultural Differences in Engaging with Ethnic Minorities
Case for discussion about cultural and language differences in the recruitment and interviewing of migrants.
In a project about immigrant women’s encounters with the Norwegian maternity system, a group of pregnant Vietnamese women who have given birth before—either in Norway, in a transit camp, or in their home country—are contacted.
The purpose of the project is to gain knowledge about how they experienced their previous births and what expectations they have for the upcoming birth. The women are contacted through an interpreter in order to obtain their consent to be interviewed. They live quite far outside the city, and the researchers have had contact with them only through the interpreter before meeting them in the women’s homes. The researchers have provided the interpreter with the information about the project that they believe is reasonable to give, but since they do not know the women’s language, they cannot be sure how the information has been conveyed or whether it has been understood.
The women have high standards of hospitality and courtesy. When the researchers arrive at their doorstep, they are warmly welcomed inside, and when they try to find out whether the women have understood the information given about the project, they are met with many smiles and nods. When the researchers ask if they may use a tape recorder, the women proudly show their own tape recorders. These women have lived in Norway for several years, but the researchers eventually learn that they are the first Norwegians to visit them, apart from other researchers and a public health nurse. The interpreter also mentions quite late in the project that Asian women do not have a tradition of talking about their births in the way Norwegian women do. For them, childbirth belongs to the sphere of intimacy.
The researchers’ dilemma:
- Was it legitimate to ask questions about childbirth experiences?
- How can a researcher approach questions that are common in Norway, but for participants from another culture may be perceived as part of the intimate sphere?
- Could the researchers have done more to ensure ethical consent?
- How can the researchers make sure that the women have received sufficient information about the project?
- To what extent did the promise of anonymization have any value for these women?
What responsibility does the researcher have if these women feel monitored or exposed?
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