Conducting Empathetic Research: Lessons on Engaging Low-Income Families

Research often teaches you more than you expect. When our team set out to engage low-income families, I believed I was prepared. I had a solid plan: a well-structured interview guide, a generous incentive, and a clear set of objectives.

But as things unfolded, I found myself grappling with unexpected challenges, from recruitment issues to language barriers. Reflecting on my experience, I realise there are several things I could have done differently to better accommodate and connect with this community.

Here are some lessons I took away from this experience, which I hope will help fellow researchers who aim to include the perspectives of low-income families in their studies:

1. Recruitment Strategies: Beyond Monetary Incentives

Initially, I assumed that offering a significant monetary incentive would easily attract participants. (I’m a bit embarrassed to admit this now, but I thought that money would be the most important factor for low-income families 😔).

We offered $50 in vouchers for a one-hour interview, which seemed like a compelling offer. We sought the help of social workers to share the recruitment information with their clients and even visited low-income housing estates to distribute flyers. Despite these efforts, we received only two responses, and only managed to successfully conduct one interview as the other respondent dropped out at the last minute as her child fell sick.

Fortunately, we connected with a social service agency that helped us schedule a handful more interviews with beneficiaries following one of their centre’s in-person activities. Through conversations with both the agency and the participants, I learned that many low-income individuals are juggling demanding work hours, raising children, and caring for elderly parents — all without a solid support network.

For those with caregiving responsibilities, it’s not feasible to set those aside for an hour, even if there’s money to be made. This realisation made it clear why our initial recruitment efforts had yielded such a low response.

It is difficult to recruit low-income participants as they juggle multiple heavy responsibilities.

Suggestions:

• Partner with social service agencies that have established relationships with the low-income community. These agencies can help to recruit participants and coordinate interviews according to their schedules and needs.

• Offer to conduct interviews at a location convenient for them — this could be at their homes or workplace canteens, or even a phone call if meeting in person is a challenge.

• Allow participants to bring their children along, and prepare a safe space where their kids can be entertained. Colleagues could assist with temporary child minding, enabling parents to focus on the interview.

• That said, monetary incentives still do play an important role in recruitment. As with other hard-to-reach groups (e.g. ethnic minority, migrant workers), it’s important to consider offering a higher incentive for the low-income group, given how stretched for time they are.

  
  

2. Speaking their Language: Bridging Communication Gaps

One important realisation during the interviews was that English might not be the first language for many low-income participants. Our interviews were conducted in English, and some participants struggled to understand or express themselves fully. This language barrier can hinder the depth and authenticity of the insights gathered.

This language barrier might also explain why our recruitment flyers didn’t perform as well. Since they were only in English, potential participants who were interested may not have understood the invitation or been able to respond.

They may struggle to understand or express themselves fully in English.

Suggestions:

• Before conducting interviews, determine the participants’ preferred language and, if possible, have someone fluent in that language present (e.g. from the project team, or the social service agency you might be partnering with)

• Prepare multilingual recruitment materials that cater to the languages spoken by the local population

• Rather than just distributing flyers, consider knocking on doors and explaining the study verbally to overcome literacy barriers, if any

  
  

3. Moving Past their Agreeability: Getting Honest Insights

I observed that participants from low-income backgrounds tended to be more agreeable during interviews. Many expressed only positive feedback, saying everything was great.

Additionally, when I attempted to clarify my understanding by paraphrasing their statements and seeking their agreement, they would often say “yes” even if my interpretation was incorrect. Listening to the recordings later revealed that they might have agreed just to move the conversation along, as they may not have known how else to express themselves — rather than genuinely agreeing.

This agreeability could also stem from sociocultural and psychological factors. People from disadvantaged backgrounds may feel less empowered in certain settings or may have developed a habit of being agreeable to avoid conflict or discomfort with authority figures. They may also feel pressure to provide the “right” answers, especially if they believe their participation could lead to improvements for their community.

They may feel uncomfortable disagreeing, or feel bad having to explain themselves multiple times.

Suggestions:

• Spend time building a relationship with the participants before the interview starts. Help them feel comfortable to share their truth. Small talk or shared experiences can help create a relaxed environment and reduce the gap in the power dynamics they might be perceiving

• Instead of paraphrasing, which might put pressure on them, consider asking open-ended questions around their statements to allow them to express their thoughts in different ways. For example, to dig deeper into a negative experience they had with your product, ask: What do you want to change about this? Can you walk me through what you found challenging? How did you talk (or complain 🤭) about this problem to your family/friend?

  
  

4. Revisiting Consent: Respecting Participants’ Boundaries

During some interviews, participants shared deeply personal struggles, with a few becoming emotional and even breaking into tears. While this vulnerability can provide valuable insights, it raises an important ethical concern: Were participants truly prepared to disclose such intimate details?

Although we always work towards informing participants about the nature of the session during the consent process, we cannot predict or preempt every scenario without revealing the entire interview script in advance. This situation underscores the importance of ensuring that participants are fully aware of their boundaries and have the option to revisit or retract sensitive information after the interview concludes.

It’s important to let them know they are in control of how much they share.

Suggestions:

• Before the interview, clearly explain and emphasise that they are in control of how much they share — they can pause, skip questions, or withdraw at any time without consequence. This helps ensure that participants understand their rights and can set personal boundaries.

• During the interview, conduct emotional check-ins when sensitive topics arise (e.g. Are you okay to continue talking about this?). This not only ensures that participants feel supported but also provides them with the choice to manage their emotional comfort throughout the conversation.

• At the end of the interview, reassure the participant that we appreciate their honest and vulnerable responses and that their sharing would be kept within the project team. Revisit consent at the end of the interview, and allow them a chance to reconsider the information they’ve shared.

  
  

Conclusion

Nowadays, it’s easy to find guides on industry standards and best practices for conducting user research. However, this experience taught me the importance of always keeping our target participants in mind and continually reflecting on and adapting our approaches to meet them where they are.

I hope these insights will guide others in their efforts to engage with low-income communities and create a more inclusive and welcoming research environment. By doing so, we can ensure that the voices of those often overlooked are truly heard, leading to more meaningful and impactful solutions.

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Lynn is the energetic UX researcher at 55 Minutes, whose curiosity fuels her work and personal life. She believes that research is not just about gathering data; they’re about connecting on a human level to ensure that products truly resonate.