The use of instant messaging in sensitive research

Jordan Dawson and Yibo Fan

Chapter 13 in Handbook of Sensitive Research in the Social Sciences, 2025, pp 184-197 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: There are various means of communication available to researchers interested in sensitive subjects. Amongst these means are contemporary tools such as Instant Messaging (IM), which enable remote communication between parties using internet-enabled devices. By reflecting on the authors’ experiences of using IM in performing interviews on potentially sensitive subjects, this chapter considers its use in sensitive subject research more broadly. The chapter considers the impact that including IM as a means of interviewing may have on initial participant engagement, the conversation(s) between researcher and participant, and the outputs of said conversations. In these various stages, IM provides a means through which participants may be enabled to engage with research processes in ways that they may otherwise be reluctant to, and includes tools through which elements of in-person communication may be replicated. These discussions, amongst others, suggest that while there are some important considerations which must be made by researchers adopting this method, IM can be a useful tool within sensitive subject research.

Keywords: Sex work; Child sexual abuse; Instant messaging; Sensitive subjects; Hidden and hard-to-reach groups; Qualitative research; Sexual abuse; Violence; Sexual violence; Interview (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
ISBN: 9781035315222
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