Paper short abstract:

This paper explores the power dynamics inherent in ethnographic research with vulnerable people. It specifically focuses on issues of informed consent and confidentiality and how these issues become more complex at different field sites when working with marginalized homeless people in Croatia.

Paper long abstract:

This paper explores the power dynamics inherent in ethnographic research with vulnerable people. It specifically focuses on issues of informed consent and confidentiality and how these issues become more complex at different field sites when working with marginalized homeless people in Croatia. Based on collaborative team fieldwork in Croatia, this comparative research aims to understand homeless people's everyday lives from their perspectives exploring their experiences of homelessness, vulnerability, and identities (CSRP). Preliminary findings show that power dynamics between researchers and research participants are variable depending on field site (shelter facility vs street) and positionality. This exploratory study also explores the relationship between research sites, researcher positionality, and informed consent. Findings show that this is often more complex and challenging when working with populations that lack resources and trust in others. The different variants of informed consent (i.e, oral and written), as well as the achievability and ethical issues of consent in ethnographic research with vulnerable populations are discussed. Similarly, managing participant confidentiality while yielding in-depth information about people who may have connections with substance abuse and anti-social behaviour is more challenging in different research spaces. Conversely, researcher vulnerability (i.e., safety and burn-out) is magnified in immersed ethnographic work with vulnerable groups and variable depending on research site and positionality. These ethical issues are considered with the intention of engaging in responsible scholarship and in an attempt to minimize the possibility of harm to research participants.