Surviving Field Research : Working in Violent and Difficult Situations

ISBN-13: 9780415489348 / Angielski / Twarda / 2009 / 280 str.

Chandra Lekha Sriram;John C. King;Julie A. Mertus

Opis

• How do we gain authentic information and generate credible knowledge from research in difficult places and from difficult audiences? Can we do this?
• Are there practical solutions to the challenges and barriers often put before us?

This book guides researchers in conducting research in situations of violent conflict or human rights abuses. It informs the reader of the ongoing debates about responsible scholarship and explains how to identify and address challenges in conducting qualitative research in difficult circumstances. The volume proceeds in five substantive sections, each addressing a different challenge of conducting field research in conflict scenarios:

• Ethics
• Access
• Veracity
• Security
• Identity, objectivity, behavior of the researcher.

Each chapter within each section addresses a specific dimension or several dimensions of the broader challenge, drawing upon the author’s concrete experiences in the field. The volume concludes with a chapter on putting the lessons from the volume into practice.

This is an important and necessary text for scholars, researchers and policymakers studying and engaged in protection of human rights.

Spis treści

1. Introduction: Surviving Research Julie Mertus  2. Demystifying field research John C. King  Part 1: Ethics  3. Exceeding Scholarly Responsibility: IRBs and Political Constraints Judy Hemming  4. Methods and Ethics with Research Teams and NGOs: Comparing Experiences Across the Border of Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo Elizabeth Levy Paluck  5. Maintenance of Standards of Protection during Writeup and Publication Chandra Lekha Sriram  Part 2: Access  6. Got Trust? The Challenge of Gaining Access in Conflict Zones Julie Norman  7. From Cell Phones to Coffee: Issues of Access in Egypt Courtney Radsch  8. "That is not what we authorised you to do…": Access and Government Interference in Highly Politicised Research Environments Susan Thomson  Part 3: Veracity  9. Researching Repellent Groups: Some Methodological Considerations on How to Represent Militants, Radicals, and Other Belligerents Carolyn Gallaher  10. Interpreting Truth and Lies in Stories of Conflict and Violence Lee Ann Fujii  Part 4: Security  11. Maintenance of Personal Security: Ethical and Operational Issues Julie Mertus  12. Impact on Research of Security Seeking Behaviour Amy Ross  Part 5: Identity, Objectivity, Behaviour  13. Fieldwork, Objectivity, and the Academic Enterprise Marie-Joelle Zahar  14. Dilemmas of Self-Representation and Conduct in the Field Stephen Brown  15. There and Back: Surviving Research in Violent and Difficult Situations Olga Martin-Ortega and Johanna Herman

O autorze

Chandra Lekha Sriram is Professor of Human Rights and Director of the Centre on Human Rights in Conflict at the University of East London, UK. John C. King is scholar-in-residence at the American University, USA. Julie A. Mertus is Associate Professor and Co-Director of the MA program in Ethics, Peace and Global Affairs at the American University, USA. Olga Martin-Ortega is Senior Research Fellow at the Centre on Human Rights in Conflict at the University of East London, UK. Johanna Herman is Research Fellow at the Centre on Human Rights in Conflict at the University of East London, UK.