Participant Recruitment Challenges in Researching Peer Groups and Migration Retrospectively

Paula Pustułka; Natalia Juchniewicz; Izabela Grabowska

doi:10.18778/1733-8069.13.4.04

Authors

Paula Pustułka SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities
Natalia Juchniewicz SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities; University of Warsaw, Institute of Philosophy
Izabela Grabowska SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities; University of Warsaw, Centre of Migration Research

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18778/1733-8069.13.4.04

Keywords:

participant recruitment, migration, peer group, Qualitative Longitudinal Research (QLR), longitudinal study

Abstract

This paper discusses the challenges of researching peer groups through a multi-focal, temporal lens in a retrospective manner. Embedded in a broader “Peer Groups & Migration” Qualitative Longitudinal Study (QLS), the article focuses on recruiting young respondents (aged 19-34 at present) who originally come from one of the three medium-sized towns in Polish localities and are either migrants or stayers connected to mobile individuals. The respondents are tracked retrospectively and asked to discuss their adolescence, as well encouraged to provide contacts to their youth Peer Group members. Based on fieldwork experiences and field access challenges, four models of recruiting migrants’ high school peer groups are presented. Furthermore, variants and rationales of non-recruitment are also provided. Focusing on the process of establishing a long-term and large-scale peer panel in the QLS, the paper contributes detailed know-how and strategies around participant recruitment.

Author Biographies

Paula Pustułka, SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities

Has a PhD in Sociology from Bangor University in Wales (2015) and is currently a Postdoctoral Researcher and Lecturer at the SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities in Warsaw. Her research includes projects on Peer Groups & Migration, Transnational Polish Families in Norway (Transfam), and Polish Migrant Motherhood in the West. Paula works in qualitative and mix-methods traditions, specializing in ethnographic approaches. She has extensively published on the nexus of family, gender, and migration.
Natalia Juchniewicz, SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities; University of Warsaw, Institute of Philosophy

PhD in Philosophy, Assistant Professor in the Institute of Philosophy at the University of Warsaw, PhD Student at the Interdisciplinary Doctoral Studies Program at the SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities in Warsaw and Postdoctoral Researcher in the project Peer Groups & Migration. Natalia is interested in new media, technology, mobility, and qualitative ethnographic research.
Izabela Grabowska, SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities; University of Warsaw, Centre of Migration Research

Is Professor at University of Social Sciences and Humanities in Warsaw and the Director of the Interdisciplinary Doctoral School. Izabela is an elected Deputy Chair of IMISCOE Research Network Board of Directors and member of Executive Board, as well as IMISCOE Coordinator at the Center of Migration Research, University of Warsaw. She publishes internationally on labor market and human capital, social and geographical mobility and development with social remittances. Her recent book projects include Movers and Stayers: Social Mobility, Migration and Skills (2012, 2016) and a co-authored monograph Migrants as Agents of Change. Social Remittances in an Enlarged European Union (2017, Palgrave Macmillan).
More at: www.izabelagrabowska.com.

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