Stroking Reflexivity Into Practice: The Pros and Cons of Resorting to Gatekeepers to Conduct Qualitative Criminological Research

Accessing research settings and participants can be deeply challenging for scientific research, especially when gatekeepers are involved.Gatekeepers are known to affect research through, among other reasons, their position inside institutions, their knowledge of the research topic, and their power over prospective participants.This article explores the methodological and ethical challenges that may arise from resorting to gatekeepers to access participants in qualitative criminological research.Using reflexive notes from the fieldwork of two doctoral research projects in criminology, this article emphasizes the central role gatekeepers can assume in qualitative research regarding gaining access to participants for a study and conducting research with subjects selected by gatekeepers.It is argued that reflexivity is an essential tool in compelling researchers to think about the fundamental guiding principles necessary to the notion of trustworthiness.It is also argued that reflexivity promotes potentially valuable strategies to overcome research challenges.