Methodological Reflections on Fieldwork in Sensitive Environmental Justice Research
Engaging Marginalized Communities in Ghana’s Large-Scale Gold Mining Regions
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 7156555 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Ata Senior Yeboah (0000-0002-8150-7991, McGill University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 25 |
| Publication date | 2026-01-19 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | International Journal of Qualitative Methods (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1609-4069 • E-ISSN: 1609-4069 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1177/16094069251401019 |
| OpenAlex | W7125951868 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 41 |
This article provides a hands-on reflective account of fieldwork experiences involving marginalized communities hosting commercial large-scale gold mining activities. Drawing upon a project investigating the gendered dimensions and vulnerability contexts of environmental justice in Ghana’s extractive sector, the paper discusses the tensions and challenges in researching sensitive topics in marginalized communities. Drawing on my fieldwork experiences, I address some challenges and uncertainties in conducting fieldwork and producing knowledge in marginalized communities. At the heart of the discussion are issues about gaining introduction into a new research context, building relationships and trust with participants, research participation fatigue, community stakeholder engagement experiences, and navigating power inequalities between the researcher and the researched. For research to be mutually beneficial, the article argues for future researchers working with marginalized communities to produce user-friendly knowledge exchange products that non-academic stakeholders can easily adopt. By ensuring that knowledge produced in research is accessible and understandable, marginalized communities will be well-placed to access resources and opportunities
Community engagement · Economic Justice · Environmental justice · Gold mining · Photovoice · Power (physics) · Stakeholder · Stakeholder engagement · Vulnerability (computing) · Environmental Justice and Health Disparities · Mining and Resource Management · Qualitative Research Methods and Ethics
Grounded Theory and Grounded Theorizing
Research collaboration in universities and academic entrepreneurship
Researcher Positionality - A Consideration of Its Influence and Place in Qualitative Research - A New Researcher Guide
Burden without benefit
Vulnerable populations affected by mining
Mobility, temporary migration and changing livelihoods in Zimbabwe's artisanal mining sector
Environmental justices and injustices of large-scale gold mining in Ghana
Exploring unchartered territories”
Gold mining in Ghana and the UN Sustainable Development Goals
Gaining access for research
Vulnerability as ethical practice
Migration, housing and attachment in urban gold mining settlements
Poverty, adaptation and vulnerability
Reciprocity
The politics of narrative
Pragmatism as a Research Paradigm and Its Implications for Social Work Research
Three principles of pragmatism for research on organizational processes
A Stakeholder Approach to Community Participation in a Rural Development Project
Building Trust in Discontinuous Engagements
Reflections from Cross-Gender Fieldwork Experiences in Open Markets in Ghana
Challenging Power Dynamics and Eliciting Marginalized Adolescent Voices Through Qualitative Methods
Doubly Engaged Ethnography
Hierarchy and inequality in research
Now I see it, now I don't
Situating the Self in Prison Research
Reflections on Researcher Identity and Power
| Highly cited | No |
|---|