Abstract
The current study looks at understanding informant attitudes regarding participation in qualitative research. Adopting a generic qualitative approach grounded in the constructivist and interpretivist research philosophy, the study used semi-structured interviews to gather perspectives and insights from 12 participants. Data were analysed using thematic analysis, where seven key themes were discovered, namely comfortability in participation, anxiety about identity exposure, sense of contribution, emotions experienced while participating in qualitative research, fate of the study, network challenges and participation due to referrals from mutual connections. These findings highlight the importance of considering participants' perspectives in qualitative research and inform improvements in research methodologies and processes. The study's contributions extend to both theoretical and practical realms, expanding our understanding of the complexities of qualitative research participation and promoting ethical and participant-centred approaches.
Keywords: Constructivist theory, data collection, Kolb’s experiential learning theory, participants, qualitative research, sampling.