Postgraduate researchers’ experiences of accessing participants via gatekeepers: ‘wading through treacle!’

ABSTRACT

Research exploring both the general experiences of postgraduate research students when interacting with gatekeepers and how this affects their progress and emotional resilience is currently lacking. Consequently, this study aims to explore the experience of postgraduate researchers interacting with gatekeepers to develop an understanding of both the challenges and enablers. A mixed-methods online questionnaire was distributed internationally to postgraduate researchers. N = 66 questionnaires were returned. Analysis of the quantitative and qualitative data highlighted that postgraduate researchers face a range of challenges when using gatekeepers to access participants for studies, and that there is a negative emotional impact arising when challenges are faced. Thematic analysis revealed six themes: Access to participants; Relationships; Perceptions of research; Context for gatekeepers, Emotional impact, and Mechanisms to address challenges. The study has highlighted a gap in the literature concerning the number of students who experience issues with gatekeepers, and how this affects their ability to undertake their research, their emotional resilience, and their access to support. Postgraduate researchers utilised a number of supportive mechanisms including seeking advice, reflective practice, and persistence to help them overcome challenges faced. Guidance for researchers, supervisors and universities is proposed.

KEYWORDS:

• Student
• postgraduate
• gatekeepers
• experiences
• recruitment
• researcher

Acknowledgments

Professor Edwin van Teijlingen

Professor Vanora Hundley

Dr Steve Trenoweth

Bronwyn Sherriff

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest.

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed here.

Additional information

Funding

The authors were PGRs funded by Bournemouth University at the time of this research. The authors received no financial support specifically for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Notes on contributors

Adam Spacey

Adam Spacey is a Lecturer at Salford University. His main areas of interest are palliative and dementia care. Alongside his academic responsibilities, Adam works as a bank radiographer for two NHS Hospital Trusts.

Orlanda Harvey

Orlanda Harvey (MA) is a PhD. student within the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences at Bournemouth University with a research interest in image and performance enhancing drug (IPED) use. After a spending 17 years in leadership and management training, she recently requalified as a Social Worker and became interested in IPED use after working with an Addiction Community Team. As a result, her MA dissertation focused on identifying what Social Workers needed to know about people who chose to use IPED. Her PhD research project is a mixed methods study into Anabolic Androgenic Steroid (AAS) use and aims to explore and describe how AAS use contributes to specific behavioural issues and what AAS users perceive as the barriers to and opportunities for accessing support services.

Chloe Casey

Chloe Casey currently works as a postgraduate researcher at the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, Bournemouth University. Chloe does research in postgraduate research students’ mental wellbeing.