The purpose of this project was to conduct a qualitative study of how participating in in-depth interviews impacted rape survivors. These interviews contained both open-ended, free response section and closed-ended, standardized assessments. The implementation of the interviews was informed by principles of feminist interviewing, which emphasized reducing hierarchy between the interviewer and interviewee, providing information and resources, and creating an emotionally supportive and compassionate setting. Narrative data were analyzed from rape survivors (N = 92) regarding how they were affected by participating in these interviews. Results suggested that the overwhelming majority of survivors found the interview to be a helpful, supportive, and insightful experience. Additional analyses revealed that the feminist interviewing principles were noticed and appreciated by the participants and contributed to their overall positive participation outcomes.
Acker, J., Barry, K., & Esseveld, J. ( 1983). Objectivity and truth: Problems in doing feminist research . Women’s Studies International Forum, 6, 423-435.
2.
Altheide, D.L., & Johnson, J.M. ( 1994). Criteria for assessing interpretive validity in qualitative research. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (pp. 485-499). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
3.
Becker-Blease, K.A., & Freyd, J.J. ( 2006). Research participants telling the truth about their lives: The ethics of asking and not asking about abuse. American Psychologist, 61, 218-226.
4.
Bergen, R.K. ( 1993). Interviewing survivors of marital rape: Doing feminist research on sensitive topics. In C. M. Renzetti & R. M. Lee (Eds.), Researching sensitive topics (pp. 197-211). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
5.
Bergen, R.K. ( 1996). Wife rape: Understanding the response of survivors and service providers. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
6.
Black, M.C., Kresnow, M., Simon, T.R., Arias, I., & Shelley, G. ( 2006). Telephone survey respondents’ reactions to questions regarding interpersonal violence. Violence & Victims, 21, 445-459.
7.
Campbell, R. ( 2002). Emotionally involved: The impact of researching rape . New York: Routledge.
8.
Campbell, R., Adams, A.E., & Patterson, D. ( 2008). Methodological challenges of collecting evaluation data from traumatized clients/consumers: A comparison of three methods. American Journal of Evaluation, 29, 369-381.
9.
Campbell, R., Adams, A.E., Wasco, S.M., Ahrens, C.E., & Sefl, T. (in press). Training interviewers for research on sexual violence: A qualitative study of rape survivors’ recommendations for interview practice. Violence Against Women.
10.
Campbell, R., Sefl, T., Barnes, H.E., Ahrens, C.E., Wasco, S.M., & Zaragoza-Diesfeld, Y. (1999). Community services for rape survivors: Enhancing psychological well-being or increasing trauma? Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 67, 847-858.
11.
Campbell, R., Sefl, T., Wasco, S.M., & Ahrens, C.E. ( 2004). Doing community research without a community: Creating safe space for rape survivors. American Journal of Community Psychology, 33, 253-261.
12.
Campbell, R., Wasco, S.M., Ahrens, C.E., Sefl, T., & Barnes, H.E. ( 2001). Preventing the "second rape": Rape survivors’ experiences with community service providers. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 16, 1239-1259.
13.
Carlson, E.B., Newman, E., Daniels, J.W., Armstrong, J., Roth, D., & Loewenstein, R. (2003). Distress in response to and perceived usefulness of trauma research interviews. Journal of Trauma & Dissociation, 4, 131-142.
14.
Charmaz, K. ( 2006). Constructing grounded theory: A practical guide through qualitative analysis. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
15.
Denzin, N.K. ( 1994). The art and politics of interpretation. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (pp. 500-515). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
16.
DeVault, M.L. ( 1996). Talking back to sociology: Distinctive contributions of feminist methodology. Annual Review of Sociology, 22, 29-50.
17.
DeVault, M.L. ( 1997). Personal writing in social research: Issues of production and interpretation. In R. Hertz (Ed.), Reflexivity and voice (pp. 216-228). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
18.
Dobash, R.E., & Dobash, R. ( 1979). Violence against wives. New York: Free Press.
19.
Draucker, C.B. ( 1999). The emotional impact of sexual violence research on participants . Archives of Psychiatric Nursing, 13, 161-169.
20.
DuMont, J., & Stermac, L. ( 1996). Research with women who have been sexually assaulted: Examining informed consent. Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality , 5, 185-191.
21.
Dutton, M.A., & Widom, C.S. ( 2002, November). Reactions to research involving sensitive issues in two vulnerable groups: Implications for Institutional Review Boards. Presentation at the ORI Research Conference on Research Integrity , Potomac, MD.
22.
Erickson, F. ( 1986). Qualitative methods in research on teaching. In M. C. Wittrock (Ed.), Handbook of research on teaching (3rd ed., pp. 119-161). New York: Macmillan.
23.
Fonow, M.M., & Cook, J.A. ( 1991). Back to the future: A look at the second wave feminist epistemology and methodology. In M. M. Fonow & J. A. Cook (Eds.), Beyond methodology: Feminist scholarship as lived research (pp. 1-15). Bloomington : Indiana University Press.
24.
Glaser, B.G., & Strauss, A.L. ( 1967). Discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research. Hawthorne, NY: Aldine .
25.
Gordon, M.T., & Riger, S. ( 1989). The female fear: The social costs of rape. New York: Free Press.
26.
Gorelick, S. ( 1996). Contradictions of feminist methodology. In H. Gottfried (Ed.), Feminism and social change: Bridging theory and practice (pp. 23-45). Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
27.
Griffin, M.G., Resick, P.A., Waldrop, A.E., & Mechanic, M.B. (2003). Participation in trauma research: Is there evidence of harm? Journal of Traumatic Stress, 16, 221-227.
Herman, J. ( 1992). Trauma and recovery. New York: Basic Books.
30.
Hutchinson, S.A., Wilson, M.E., & Wilson, H.S. ( 1994). Benefits of participating in research interviews. IMAGE: Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 26, 161-164.
31.
Jaggar, A. ( 1989). Love and knowledge: Emotion in feminist epistemology . In A. Jaggar & S. R. Bordo (Eds.), Gender/body/knowledge (pp. 145-171). New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
32.
Johnson, L.E., & Benight, C.C. ( 2003). Effects of trauma-focused research on recent domestic violence survivors. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 16, 567-571.
33.
Kelly, L. ( 1988). Surviving sexual violence. Minneapolis : University of Minnesota Press.
34.
Martin, J.L., Perrott, K., Morris, E.M., & Romans, S.E. ( 1999). Participation in retrospective child sexual abuse research: Beneficial or harmful? What women think six years later. In L. M. Williams & V. L. Banyard (Eds.), Trauma and memory (pp. 149-160). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
35.
Miles, M.B., & Huberman, A.M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis: An expanded sourcebook (2nd ed.) Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
36.
Newman, E., & Kaloupek, D.G. (2004). The risks and benefits of participating in trauma focused research studies. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 17, 383-394.
37.
Newman, E., Walker, E.A., & Gelfand, A. ( 1999). Assessing the ethical costs and benefits of trauma-focused research. General Hospital Psychiatry, 21, 187-196.
38.
Oakley, A. ( 1988). Interviewing women: A contradiction in terms. In H. Roberts (Ed.), Doing feminist research (pp. 30-61). New York: Routledge .
39.
Rabenhorst, M.M. ( 2006). Sexual assault survivors’ reactions to a thought suppression paradigm. Violence & Victims, 21, 473-481.
40.
Reinharz, S. ( 1993). Neglected voices and excessive demands in feminist research . Qualitative Sociology, 16, 69-76.
41.
Renzetti, C.M. ( 1997). Confessions of a reformed positivist: Feminist participatory research as good social science. In M. D. Schwartz (Ed.), Researching sexual violence against women: Methodological and personal perspectives (pp. 131-143). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
42.
Rosenbaum, A., & Langhinrichsen-Rohling, J. (2006). Meta-research on violence and victims: The impact of data collection methods on findings and participants . Violence & Victims, 21, 404-409.
43.
Russell, D.E.H. ( 1974). The politics of rape: The victim’s perspective . Briarcliff Manor, NY: Stein & Day.
44.
Russell, D.E.H. ( 1982). Rape in marriage. New York: Macmillan.
45.
Ruzek, J.I., & Zatzick, D.F. ( 2000). Ethical considerations in research participation among acutely injured trauma survivors: An empirical investigation. General Hospital Psychiatry, 22, 27-36.
46.
Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. ( 1990). Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
47.
Thompson, S.K., & Seber, G.A.F. ( 1996). Adaptive sampling. New York: John Wiley.
48.
Vaughan, D. ( 1986). Uncoupling: Turning points in intimate relationships . New York: Oxford University Press .
49.
Walker, E.A., Newman, E., & Koss, M. ( 1997). Does the study of victimization revictimize the victims ? General Hospital Psychiatry, 19, 403-410.
50.
Widom, C.S., & Czaja, S.J. ( 2005). Reactions to research participation in vulnerable subgroups . Accountability in Research, 12, 115-138.
