Staffordshire Centre for Psychological Research
This project will use a social identity perspective to explore current practices in participant recruitment. It’s aim is to understand how to effectively engage under-represented groups in science
Participant samples that are not representative of their populations can result in findings that are erroneous and/or that perpetuate group inequalities. In Healthcare, populations with the highest burden of disease have the lowest number of people taking part in studies, biasing results in favour of healthier patients (Bower et al., 2020). In Psychology, the focus on participants from powerful groups (e.g., white males of high SES; Henrich et al., 2010) means that the behaviours exhibited by these groups have been treated as normative while traditions common among other populations are pathologized (Salter & Haugen, 2017).
Engagement with under-represented groups presents a challenge for researchers. In response, the NHS recently published guidance on how to reach such groups, citing language barriers, accessibility, and mistrust as primary reasons for under-representation (NHS England, 2023). However, one concept that underlies all these barriers, but that has received little attention, is people’s identification with scientific initiatives. Indeed, whether prospective participants and researchers share an identity (e.g., via sharing the same goal) is communicated through language, shapes whether participation seems possible, and determines trust (Haslam, Reicher, & Birney, 2014).
This project draws on current work showing that one’s willingness to go along with another’s requests is contingent on the strength of their identification with that person and/or the cause they represent (Birney et al., 2022). This PhD will apply what we know about the effect of identity on followership to the challenge of increasing scientific engagement among under-represented groups. We will do this by focusing on research practices. Specifically, we will explore how identity is currently being conveyed to participants, investigate whether these practices are effective, and create materials that will support researchers in engendering a shared sense of identity with members of under-represented group.