“From birth to death, from beginning to end”:participant experience and the meaning of research participation in a longitudinal birth cohort study
Abstract Research participants are vital for the success of a birth cohort study. Despite their scientific importance and large participant numbers, research on participant experience in birth cohort studies is scarce. This study explores participant experience, its different dimensions and meaning...
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ftunivoulu:oai:oulu.fi:nbnfi-fe2022071851760 2023-07-30T04:05:49+02:00 “From birth to death, from beginning to end”:participant experience and the meaning of research participation in a longitudinal birth cohort study Rönkä, A. R. (Anna Reetta) 2022 application/pdf http://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi-fe2022071851760 eng eng SAGE Publications info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess © The Author(s) 2022. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage). birth cohort meaning participant experience qualitative content analysis research participation info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion 2022 ftunivoulu 2023-07-08T19:59:27Z Abstract Research participants are vital for the success of a birth cohort study. Despite their scientific importance and large participant numbers, research on participant experience in birth cohort studies is scarce. This study explores participant experience, its different dimensions and meaning of the experience for the participants’ lives. The data comes from the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966. In total, 49 semi-structured interviews were conducted with participants having full participation records and then subjected to qualitative content and thematic analysis. According to the findings, the participant experience is multidimensional, consisting of four dimensions; personal, relational, societal, and scientific. The experience evoked both positive and negative feelings and a sense of belongingness. Motivations to continue, perceived benefits of the study, consequences of participation, and the theme of trust were grouped under the four dimensions. The meaning of the study participation, and the level of personal investment and involvement in the study varied a lot among active study participants, forming a continuum from a very strong to a weak. The findings of this study contribute to the theoretical conceptualization of the participant experience. They help to better understand the participant’s perspective, and the different aspects that participating in a longitudinal research project may entail as a subjective and a relational experience. The results may contribute to research design and aid in enhancing participant satisfaction. That is important, as conducting high-quality research depends on motivated and committed research participants. Article in Journal/Newspaper Northern Finland Jultika - University of Oulu repository |
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birth cohort meaning participant experience qualitative content analysis research participation |
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birth cohort meaning participant experience qualitative content analysis research participation Rönkä, A. R. (Anna Reetta) “From birth to death, from beginning to end”:participant experience and the meaning of research participation in a longitudinal birth cohort study |
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birth cohort meaning participant experience qualitative content analysis research participation |
description |
Abstract Research participants are vital for the success of a birth cohort study. Despite their scientific importance and large participant numbers, research on participant experience in birth cohort studies is scarce. This study explores participant experience, its different dimensions and meaning of the experience for the participants’ lives. The data comes from the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966. In total, 49 semi-structured interviews were conducted with participants having full participation records and then subjected to qualitative content and thematic analysis. According to the findings, the participant experience is multidimensional, consisting of four dimensions; personal, relational, societal, and scientific. The experience evoked both positive and negative feelings and a sense of belongingness. Motivations to continue, perceived benefits of the study, consequences of participation, and the theme of trust were grouped under the four dimensions. The meaning of the study participation, and the level of personal investment and involvement in the study varied a lot among active study participants, forming a continuum from a very strong to a weak. The findings of this study contribute to the theoretical conceptualization of the participant experience. They help to better understand the participant’s perspective, and the different aspects that participating in a longitudinal research project may entail as a subjective and a relational experience. The results may contribute to research design and aid in enhancing participant satisfaction. That is important, as conducting high-quality research depends on motivated and committed research participants. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Rönkä, A. R. (Anna Reetta) |
author_facet |
Rönkä, A. R. (Anna Reetta) |
author_sort |
Rönkä, A. R. (Anna Reetta) |
title |
“From birth to death, from beginning to end”:participant experience and the meaning of research participation in a longitudinal birth cohort study |
title_short |
“From birth to death, from beginning to end”:participant experience and the meaning of research participation in a longitudinal birth cohort study |
title_full |
“From birth to death, from beginning to end”:participant experience and the meaning of research participation in a longitudinal birth cohort study |
title_fullStr |
“From birth to death, from beginning to end”:participant experience and the meaning of research participation in a longitudinal birth cohort study |
title_full_unstemmed |
“From birth to death, from beginning to end”:participant experience and the meaning of research participation in a longitudinal birth cohort study |
title_sort |
“from birth to death, from beginning to end”:participant experience and the meaning of research participation in a longitudinal birth cohort study |
publisher |
SAGE Publications |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
http://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi-fe2022071851760 |
genre |
Northern Finland |
genre_facet |
Northern Finland |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess © The Author(s) 2022. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage). |
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