Ethical and Methodological Challenges in Community-Centered Research with Asian Immigrants

Purpose: Community-centered research involves active participation of community members at all levels of the research process and, in turn, can enrich the quality of the study and produce more relevant results. At the same time, conducting community-centered research also has its unique challenges and opportunities. This presentation shares lessons learned during the process of planning and conducting qualitative research with Hmong immigrants. These lessons have the potential to provide guidance to researchers on methodological and practical issues related to conducting research with Asian immigrant populations.

Methods:  We conducted 17 key informant and 84 in-depth interviews with Hmong women and men living in Oregon, USA. Research team discussions, insights from our Hmong research team members, input from our Community Advisory Committee, and project documents were sources of information about the process of conducting research in this community. 

Results: Ethical challenges concerning several areas included building community partnerships and support; establishing and working with a community advisory committee; recruiting and training bi-lingual, bi-cultural staff from the community; using culturally appropriate materials and methods; obtaining informed consent; addressing language and literacy issues; obtaining accurate translations and transcriptions; and protecting privacy and maintaining confidentiality in a small, clan-based community. 

Conclusion:  We used multiple strategies to ensure this study was culturally appropriate. The lessons learned from our experiences can inform future research with Asian immigrant populations.