Research Methods in Conflict Settings
A View from Below

This volume compiles lessons learned by field researchers, many of whom have faced demanding situations characterized by violence, distrust and social fragmentation.

Dyan Mazurana (Edited by), Karen Jacobsen (Edited by), Lacey Andrews Gale (Edited by)

9781107502819, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 11 December 2014

342 pages, 11 b/w illus.
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.8 cm, 0.46 kg

Increasing numbers of researchers are working in regions experiencing high levels of conflict or crisis, or among populations that have fled violent conflict to become refugees or internally displaced persons. Understanding these conflicts and their aftermath should be shaped not only by the victors and their elite companions but also by the local people whose daily lives become intertwined with the conflict - this 'view from below' is explored in this volume. Conducting rigorous research in these contexts presents a range of ethical, methodological, logistical and security challenges not usually confronted in non-conflict field contexts. This volume compiles lessons learned by experienced field researchers, many of whom have faced demanding situations characterized by violence, distrust and social fragmentation. The authors offer options for studying the situations of people affected by conflict and, by focusing on ethical and security issues, seek ways to safeguard the interests and integrity of the research 'subjects' and of the researchers and their teams.

1. A view from below: conducting research in conflict zones Dyan Mazurana, Lacey Gale and Karen Jacobsen
2. The other side of the country: filming the human experience of war Catherine Hébert
3. Negotiating identity, space, and place among Iraqi women refugees in Jordan Isis Nusair
4. Reflections on ethical and practical challenges of conducting research with children in war zones: toward a grounded approach Michael Wessells
5. Researching social life in protracted exile: experiences with Sudanese refugees in Uganda 1996–2008 Tania Kaiser
6. 'I love my soldier' developing responsible and ethically sound research strategies in a militarized society Cathrine Brun
7. Power dynamics and the politics of fieldwork under Sudan's prolonged conflicts Jok Madut Jok
8. Reporting the story: thoughts for reporting on violent groups in a turbulent environment Molly Bingham and Steve Connors
9. Establishing a policy research organization in a conflict zone: the case of the Afghanistan research and evaluation unit Paul Fishstein and Andrew Wilder
10. Conducting research in conflict zones: lessons from the African great lakes region Timothy Longman
11. Preparing for research in active conflict zones: practical considerations for personal safety Dyan Mazurana and Lacey Gale
12. Afterword Elisabeth Wood.

Subject Areas: International humanitarian law [LBBS], International human rights law [LBBR], Law [L], Human rights [JPVH], International relations [JPS]