Institutional gatekeepers play an increasingly important role in social work research, and their involvement in the research process is essential for the development of a usable knowledge base. This article explores the experience of recruiting participants through institutional gatekeepers for research on hard-to-reach populations in social work. The article aims to find out how researchers negotiate access to research participants with institutional gatekeepers. A qualitative research strategy was used to accomplish this goal. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews with researchers revealed that the researchers enter into negotiations with institutional gatekeepers with some idea of the challenges and risks, but in part they enter into the unknown and are forced to make situational assessments in joint interactions. Research evolves and transforms based on how the researcher moves through the research process, what types of gatekeepers the researcher seeks at different stages of the research process and for what purpose. We identified three basic forms of negotiating access with institutional gatekeepers: logistical assistance, barter transaction and trust-based collaboration. This article looks at the different kinds of relationships that exist between researchers, gatekeepers and hard-to-reach population. It examines the power dynamics involved in the recruitment of marginalised groups through gatekeepers in social work research.

中文翻译：

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通过社会工作研究中的机构看门人谈判接触难以接触的人群

机构看门人在社会工作研究中发挥着越来越重要的作用，他们参与研究过程对于开发可用的知识库至关重要。本文探讨了通过机构看门人招募参与者进行社会工作中难以接触人群的研究的经验。本文旨在了解研究人员如何与机构看门人协商接触研究参与者的机会。采用定性研究策略来实现这一目标。对研究人员的半结构化深度访谈显示，研究人员在与机构看门人进行谈判时，对挑战和风险有所了解，但部分进入了未知领域，被迫在联合互动中进行态势评估。研究的发展和转变取决于研究人员如何完成研究过程、研究人员在研究过程的不同阶段寻求什么类型的看门人以及出于什么目的。我们确定了与机构看门人谈判准入的三种基本形式：后勤援助、易货交易和基于信任的合作。本文着眼于研究人员、看门人和难以接触的人群之间存在的不同类型的关系。它研究了社会工作研究中通过看门人招募边缘群体所涉及的权力动态。