PhD course: Fieldwork methodology - approaches, tools and ethics

A doctoral course within the Research School in Peace and Conflict, co-funded by Welfare Working Life and Migration (VAM) programme of the Research Council of Norway.

Venue:       Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO), Hausmanns gate 7, Oslo, Norway.

Dates:        17–19 October 2012.

Lecturers:   Jørgen Carling and Cindy Horst, Senior Researchers at PRIO.

Credits      For participation and approved essay: 5 ECTS.

Contact:     Kristoffer Lidén, Research School Coordinator at PRIO, kristoffer@prio.no.

Summary

This course prepares participants for conducting fieldwork and using fieldwork data in social-science research. By ‘fieldwork’ we mean data collection through face-to-face interaction with people in their daily lives, using participant observation, interviews, or a combination of the two. The course pays particular attention to the challenges of doing fieldwork in challenging circumstances, such as those that are often encountered in research on peace and conflict, or in the contexts of migration and displacement. The sessions roughly follow the chronology from pre-fieldwork planning to post-fieldwork representation of data, and address both practical and principle concerns at each stage. Discussions of ethical challenges are integrated throughout. Rather than attempting to provide blueprint answers, the course seeks to help participants reflect upon the dilemmas and challenges of fieldwork and make informed decisions for their own research.

Admission

The application deadline is Sunday 2 September 2012. Applicants who are not enrolled in the Research School on Peace and Conflict should include a very brief description of their doctoral research, and details about their university affiliation. Send applications by e-mail to the Research School Coordinator, Kristoffer Lidén at (kristoffer@prio.no). There is no participation fee, but the cost of transportation and accommodation, if needed, must be covered by participants. No financial assistance is available. Applicants will be notified about the outcome of their application as quickly as possible after the deadline.

Planned sessions

Reading lists for each session will be distributed to participants after admission to the course.

Introduction

Brief presentation of lecturers, participants and their research. Introduction to the course.

1. Research design and access

How do I formulate research questions that can be addressed through fieldwork? How do I identify the appropriate ‘field’? How do I identify and approach informants? Which ethical considerations are important to design the research and accessing the field?

2. Interviews and participant observation

Which data collection methods can be used in fieldwork? What does participant observation entail? What is the academic value of ‘hanging out’? How structured or open should interviews be? How can different data collection methods benefit from each other?

3. Relationships and risks in the field

How do I present myself and my research in a fieldwork setting? How do I manage relationships with informants and gatekeepers? What are some of the risks and ethical challenges I might face while doing fieldwork?

4. Language, note-taking and recording

What do I do if I don’t speak the language of my informants? How do address the issue of recording or not? How can I ensure that my notes become a valuable resource when fieldwork is over? How do I protect my fieldwork data?

5. Coding and analysing fieldwork data with NVivo

What does coding entail in qualitative research? How can NVivo help in organizing and analysing my data? What characterizes a good system for coding? This session will demonstrate the potential and limitations of NVivo and help participants make decisions about acquiring and learning to use the software, for instance through online courses.

6. Writing and representing fieldwork data

How do I convey fieldwork insights in writing? How can I make effective use of quotes from informants? Which ethical concerns are important in the writing phase? What are the common challenges of fieldwork-based research in the review process of academic journals?

Evaluation

In order to obtain credits for the course, participants must submit a paper of 3000–5000 words by 15 November 2012. The paper should address all the following topics:

·      The relationship between the research question(s) and fieldwork-based knowledge

·      The specific fieldwork methodology employed

·      Methodological and ethical challenges and ways of addressing these challenges

Depending on the nature and current stage of the participant’s own research, the paper can be an account of fieldwork methodology already employed in their own research, a plan for fieldwork methodology to be employed in their own research, or a plan for fieldwork methodology to be employed in a proposed future project.

  

Required readings

Please note that the required readings include all but one chapter in Hammersley, M, and Atkin-son, P. (2007) Ethnography: Principles in Practice, 3rd Edition. Participants must obtain a copy of this book. The required readings include some chapters of the following books; the remaining chapters are recommended, and participants might wish to obtain the books in full. 1) Charmaz, K. (2006) Constructing Grounded Theory. A Practical Guide Through Qualitative Analysis. London: Sage. 2) Emerson, R.M., Fretz, R.I. and Shaw, L.L. (1995) Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 3) Saldaña, J. (2009) The Coding Manual for Qualitative Researchers. London: Sage.

General background

Charmaz, K. (2006) Constructing Grounded Theory. A Practical Guide Through Qualitative Analysis. London: Sage. Chapter 1, An invitation to grounded theory (12 pages)

Hammersley, M, and Atkinson, P. (2007) Ethnography: Principles in Practice, 3rd Edition. Abingdon: Routledge. Chapter 1, What is ethnography? (19 pages)

Hammersley, M, and Atkinson, P. (2007) Ethnography: Principles in Practice, 3rd Edition. Abingdon: Routledge. Chapter 10, Ethics. (21 pages)

Savin-Baden, M. and Howell Major, C. (2010) ‘Introduction. The uncertainty of wisdom.’ in Savin-Baden, M. and Howell Major, C. (eds.) New Approaches to Qualitative Research: Wisdom and Uncertainty. Abing-don: Routledge. (5 pages)

[62 pages in total]

1. Research design and access

Research design

Bloor, M. and Wood, F. (2006) Keywords in Qualitative Methods. London: Sage. Theoretical saturation. (2 pages)

Hammersley, M, and Atkinson, P. (2007) Ethnography: Principles in Practice, 3rd Edition. Abingdon: Routledge. Chapter 2, Research design: problems, cases, and samples. (21 pages)

Small, M.L. (2009) ‘‘How many cases do I need?’ On science and the logic of case selection in field-based research.’ Ethnography, 10(1):5-38. (34 pages)

Accounts of methodology and design – four examples

Dreby, J. (2010) Divided by borders. Mexican migrants and their children. Berkeley: University of California Press. Appendix A. Research design. (11 pages)

Levitt, P. (2001) The Transnational Villagers. Berkeley: University of California Press. Appendix B. Method-ology. (5 pages)

Menjívar, C. (2000) Fragmented Ties. Salvadoran Immigrant Networks in America. Berkeley: University of California Press. Crossing boundaries: a personal note on research. (3 pages)

Thai, H.C. (2008) For Better or For Worse. Vietnamese International Marriages in the New Global Economy. Piscataway: Rutgers University Press. Appendix A. Reflections on methodology. (18 pages)

Access and informed consent

Adler, P.A. and Adler, P. (2001) ‘The Reluctant Respondent.’ in Gubrium, J.F. and Holstein, J.A. (eds) Handbook of Interview Research Thousand Oaks: Sage, 515-531. (17 pages)

Feldman, M.S., Bell, J. and Berger, M.T. (2003) Gaining Access. A practical and theoretical guide for qualitative researchers. Walnut Creek: Altamira Press. Chapter 1, Finding informants (11 pages)

Hammersley, M, and Atkinson, P. (2007) Ethnography: Principles in Practice, 3rd Edition. Abingdon: Routledge. Chapter 3, Access. (22 pages)

Miller, T. and Bell, L. (2002) ‘Consenting to what? Issues of access, gate-keeping and ‘informed’ consent.’ in Mauthner, M., Birch, M., Jessop, J. and Miller, T. (eds) Ethics in Qualitative Research. Thousand Oaks: Sage, 54-67. (14 pages)

Shenton, A.K. and Hayter, S. (2004) ‘Strategies for gaining access to organisations and informants in quali-tative studies.’ Education for Information, 22:223-231. (11 pages) 4

Tyldum, G. (2011) ‘Ethics or access? Balancing informed consent against the application of institutional, economic or emotional pressures in recruiting respondents for research.’ International Journal of Social Research Methodology. Pre-publication version, DOI 10.1080/13645579.2011.572675. (12 pages)

[181 pages in total]

2. Interviews and participant observation

Buscatto, M. (2011) Using ethnography to study gender, in Silverman, D. (ed.) Qualitative Research, 3rd Edi-tion. London: Sage. (18 pages)

Charmaz, K. (2006) Constructing Grounded Theory. A Practical Guide Through Qualitative Analysis. London: Sage. Chapter 2, Gathering rich data (19 pages)

Gobo, G. (2011) Ethnography, in Silverman, D. (ed.) Qualitative Research, 3rd Edition. London: Sage. (20 pages)

Hammersley, M, and Atkinson, P. (2007) Ethnography: Principles in Practice, 3rd Edition. Abingdon: Routledge. Chapter 5, Oral accounts and the role of interviewing. (24 pages)

Kitzinger, J. and Barbour, R. (1999) Introduction: the challenge and promise of focus groups, in Barbour, R. and Kitzinger, J. (eds.) Developing Focus Groups Research. Politics, Theory and Practice. London: Sage. (20 pages)

Michell, L. (1999) Combining focus groups and interviews: telling how it is; telling how it feels, in Barbour, R. and Kitzinger, J. (eds.) Developing Focus Groups Research. Politics, Theory and Practice. London: Sage. (11 pages)

Miller, J. and Glassner, B. (2011) The “inside” and the “outside”: Finding realities in interviews, in Silver-man, D. (ed.) Qualitative Research, 3rd Edition. London: Sage. (18 pages)

[130 pages in total]

3. Relationships and risks in the field

Cousin, G. (2010) Positioning positionality. The reflexive turn, in Savin-Baden, M. and Howell Major, C. (eds.) New Approaches to Qualitative Research: Wisdom and Uncertainty. Abingdon: Routledge. (10 pages)

Duncan, M. and Watson, R. (2010) Taking a stance. Socially responsible ethics and informed consent. in Savin-Baden, M. and Howell Major, C. (eds.) New Approaches to Qualitative Research: Wisdom and Uncer-tainty. Abingdon: Routledge. (10 pages)

Feldman, M.S., Bell, J. and Berger, M.T. (2003) Gaining Access. A practical and theoretical guide for qualitative researchers. Walnut Creek: Altamira Press. Chapter 5, Exiting: ending the relationship (4 pages)

Hammersley, M, and Atkinson, P. (2007) Ethnography: Principles in Practice, 3rd Edition. Abingdon: Routledge. Chapter 4, Field relations. (34 pages)

Hammond, L. (2011) Four layers of silence: counterinsurgency in northeastern Ethiopia, in Cramer, C., Hammond, L. and Pottier, J. Researching Violence in Africa. Leiden: Bril. (18 pages)

Lee-Treweek, G. and Linkogle, S. (2000) Putting danger in the frame, in Lee-Treeweek, G. and Linkogle, S. (eds.) Danger in the Field. Risk and Ethics in Social Research. London and New York: Routledge. (18 pages)

Pottier, J. Hammond, L. and Cramer, C. (2011) Navigating the terrain of methods and ethics in conflict research, in Cramer, C., Hammond, L. and Pottier, J. Researching Violence in Africa. Leiden: Brill. (22 pages)

Viterna, J. (2009) Negotiating the muddiness of grassroots field research: Managing identity and data in rural El Salvador, in Huggins, M. and Glebbeek, M. (eds.) Women Fielding Danger. Negotiating Ethno-graphic Identities in Field Research. Plymouth: Rowman and Littlefield. (30 pages)

Wood, E. (2006) The ethical challenges of field research in conflict zones. Qualitative Sociology 29: 373-386 (14 pages)

[160 pages in total]

4. Language, note-taking and recording

Borchgrevink, A. (2003) ‘Silencing language. Of anthropologists and interpreters.’ Ethnography, 4(1):95-121. (27 pages)

Bujra, J. (2006) ‘Lost in Translation? The Use of Interpreters in Fieldwork.’ in Desai, V. and Potter, R.B. (eds) Doing Development Research Thousand Oaks: Sage, 172-178. (7 pages)

Emerson, R.M., Fretz, R.I. and Shaw, L.L. (1995) Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Chapter 2, In the field: participating, observing and jotting notes. (22 pages)

Emerson, R.M., Fretz, R.I. and Shaw, L.L. (1995) Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Chapter 5, Pursuing members’ meanings. (35 pages)

Hammersley, M, and Atkinson, P. (2007) Ethnography: Principles in Practice, 3rd Edition. Abingdon: Routledge. Chapter 7, Recording and organizing data. (18 pages) 5

Hochschild, A., Banaszynski, J., Franklin, J. and Talese, G. (2007) ‘To tape or not to tape.’ in Kramer, M. and Call, W. (eds) Telling True Stories. New York: Plume, 28-30. (3 pages)

[112 pages in total]

5. Coding and analysing fieldwork data with NVivo

Charmaz, K. (2006) Constructing Grounded Theory. A Practical Guide Through Qualitative Analysis. London: Sage. Chapter 3, Coding in grounded theory practice (30 pages)

Charmaz, K. (2006) Constructing Grounded Theory. A Practical Guide Through Qualitative Analysis. London: Sage. Chapter 1, Memo-writing (24 pages)

Hammersley, M, and Atkinson, P. (2007) Ethnography: Principles in Practice, 3rd Edition. Abingdon: Routledge. Chapter 8, The process of analysis. (33 pages)

Saldaña, J. (2009) The Coding Manual for Qualitative Researchers. London: Sage. Chapter 1, An introduction to codes and coding (31 pages)

Saldaña, J. (2009) The Coding Manual for Qualitative Researchers. London: Sage. Chapter 2, Writing analytic memos (13 pages)

[131 pages in total]

6. Writing and representing fieldwork data

Behar, R. (2011) ‘Believing in Anthropology as Literature.’ In Waterston, A. and Vesperi, M.D. eds, Anthro-pology off the Shelf. Anthropologists on Writing. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell, 106-116. (11 pages)

Benham K. (2007) ‘Hearing our subjects’ voices. Quotes and dialogue.’ in Kramer, M. and Call, W. (eds) Telling True Stories. New York: Plume, 104-107. (4 pages)

Cayley, R. (2011) ‘Eight steps towards better academic writing’. Excerpts from Explorations of Style, Rachael Cayley’s Blog about Academic Writing, January–March 2011. (7 Pages)

Dickerson D. (2007) ‘Hearing our subjects’ voices. Keeping it real and true.’ in Kramer, M. and Call, W. (eds) Telling True Stories. New York: Plume, 107-109. (3 pages)

Emerson, R.M., Fretz, R.I. and Shaw, L.L. (1995) Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Chapter 7, Writing and ethnography. (42 pages)

Goodall, H.L. (2000) Writing the New Ethnography. Lanham: Altamira Press. Chapter 5, The ethics of writing ethnography. (21 pages)

Hammersley, M, and Atkinson, P. (2007) Ethnography: Principles in Practice, 3rd Edition. Abingdon: Routledge. Chapter 9. Writing ethnography. (18 pages)

Hennink, M., Hutter, I. and Bailey, A. (2011) Qualitative Research Methods. London: Sage. Chapter 11, Writ-ing qualitative research. (26 pages)

Weiss, R.S. (1994) Learning from Strangers. The Art and Method of Qualitative Interview Studies. New York: Free Press. Chapter 7, Writing the report. (24 pages)

Zinsser, W. (2006) On Writing Well. New York: Collins. Chapter 12, Writing about people: the interview. (16 pages)

[148 pages in total]