Understanding Peace Research

Methods and Challenges

Kristine Hoglund, Magnus Oberg, Kristine Hoglund, Magnus Oberg

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2011
• Print ISBN: 9780415571975
• eBook ISBN: 9781136809132
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: Military & Maritime History
• Index: Politics & International Relations

This textbook provides a comprehensive overview of different methods and sources of information-gathering for peace and conflict students and researchers, as well as the challenges presented by such work.

Research on conflict-ridden societies carries special challenges for the collection and evaluation of information about the conflict and its actors. First, due to the nature of information emerging, incentives to misrepresent and propaganda is common. News coverage is sometimes poor and reporting is often incomplete, selective and biased. Second, the sensitivity of the topic and the questions posed in peace and conflict research means that access to and the security of informants can be a problem.

Peace and conflict research as a discipline encompasses a number of different approaches for obtaining empirical information which serve as a basis for analyzing various research topics. This book provides a comprehensive overview of different methods and sources of information-gathering for students and researchers, as well as the challenges presented by such work. It offers:

• tools for evaluating sources and information
• suggestions on where different types of information can be found
• advice on using different types of sources, including news reports and written narratives
• practical guidelines for constructing large-scale datasets
• insights and guidelines for comparative fieldwork, in-depth interviews, focus groups, and surveys
• reflection and discussion on important ethical concerns in peace research

This book will be of much interest for students and researchers of peace and conflict studies, conflict resolution, war and conflict studies, development studies, security studies and IR, as well as for NGO workers/researchers.

Kristine Höglund is Associate Professor at the Department of Peace and Conflict Research, Uppsala University. She has a PhD in Peace and Conflict Research from Uppsala University Sweden (2004). She is author of Peacemaking in the Shadow of Violence.

Magnus Öberg is Associate Professor at the Department of Peace and Conflict Research, Uppsala University, and Associate Editor of the Journal of Peace Research (since 2006). He has a PhD in Peace and Conflict Research from Uppsala University (2003) and is co-editor of Resources, Governance, and Civil Conflict (Routledge, 2008).

Part I

Introduction

1 Doing Empirical Peace Research

Kristine Höglund and Magnus Öberg

Introduction

Truth is often said to be the first casualty of war. Indeed, conflict brings with it incentives to control and misrepresent information. Fear, severe trauma and other psychological processes have profound influences on people’s recollections and on what issues they can discuss openly. At the same time the ability of third parties to observe and report is reduced and sometimes severely restricted during and after armed conflicts. Warfare also tends to damage infrastructure and disrupt the keeping of records in various ways. Thus, gathering accurate and reliable information about violent conflicts and their aftermath is a challenging but also a critically important undertaking. The development of empirically-based knowledge about the causes, dynamics and resolution of armed conflicts is contingent on researchers’ ability to gather useful information.

But how do you actually do empirical peace research? What sources can be used and how can they be evaluated? How can information about sensitive and contentious issues be accessed with safety for both yourself and your sources? Information is a limiting condition for peace research as it is for any other empirical science. Yet many types of methods used to collect data are barely addressed in the methodology literature and the particular problems relating to collecting information in or about countries in conflict are even less well covered. With the notable exception of survey and interview techniques, the existing literature has surprisingly little to say about information gathering. Those that do exist almost exclusively pertain to field research and qualitative research methods (Lee, 1995; Nordstrom and Robben, 1995; Smyth and Robinson, 2001; Sriram et al, 2009; Yin 1994; see also Galtung, 1967a).

In this book we address the promise and pitfalls of different methods and sources for information gathering. Our aim is twofold: first, to raise methodological awareness of problems related to information and evidence; and second, to help students and researchers to develop better data-gathering skills. The book has a unique perspective by focusing on the information-gathering process as it pertains to research on and in conflict-ridden societies. It is rooted in experienced-based knowledge and entails both qualitative and quantitative data-gathering methods.

The contributors to this volume share a belief in the importance of careful empirical investigations for the development of theories about peace and war. Peace research as a discipline encompasses a number of different approaches for obtaining empirical information that serves as a basis for analyzing various research topics. For this reason, we investigate a range of different methods for gathering data in conflict situations, including survey methods, interview techniques and systematic large-scale data collection. We pay special attention to the challenges that arise from the conflict situation and that in various ways affect each method and the various types of sources used. We cover the potential sources of error and bias in the information-gathering process, and provide guidelines for assessing information using source criticism. We also address practical and ethical problems confronting different techniques and peace research in general. The sensitivity of the questions posed in peace research means that access to and the security of informants is a key concern for field research. In short, we have attempted to put together a book that will introduce researchers and students to different challenges of doing peace research and point to ways in which to cope with these challenges. It is primarily an introduction and resource for those collecting and evaluating information for research purposes, but can also be used by those who analyze existing data, allowing them to better understand the information-collection process that underlies the information they analyze.

In the following sections we introduce the overall themes of the book. We begin in the next section by situating information gathering as one important step in the research process. This section outlines how empirics are interconnected to the other parts of the research design and to the research problem. We thereafter provide a brief introduction to the different types of sources and information available for a peace researcher and the different methods used for collecting them. In the penultimate section we bring attention to the ethical considerations involved in doing peace research especially relating to information gathering. Finally, we provide a chapter-by-chapter overview as a guide to the reader.

What this book is about

Peace research has developed in response to a set of formative events in history – the World Wars, Hiroshima, the Cold War, the ethnic wars in the post-Cold War era and most recently September 11 2001. It is therefore strongly normatively driven by a concern to understand how violent conflict can be prevented and how peace can be made durable (Wallensteen, Chapter 2 in this book). As a scientific discipline it has also been stimulated by theoretical and philosophical debates on the ideas about central concepts such as peace, just war and violence. Progress has been spurred by empirical studies which have taken these ideas and put them to test.

We use the terms ‘data’ and ‘information’ synonymously, although there is a preference to use ‘data’ in quantitative studies and ‘information’ in qualitative research. The shift from theorizing to theory-driven empirical investigation introduces the demand for information upon which theories can be evaluated and explored. Our approach to research falls into the mainstream of peace research with theory-driven empirical studies that seek to explain and understand specific research problems. In these studies, theory and empirical enquiry go hand-in-hand. Empirical evidence is needed to substantiate theoretical positions. Theoretical arguments are needed to make sense of the empirical patterns or observations within and across cases.

In essence, the research process consists of several distinct but interlinked parts: 1) the formulation and specification of a research problem, 2) the identification or formulation of a relevant theory, 3) the methods used, 4) the gathering of data, and 5) the analysis of the data and the results. The research design determines the structure of the study by linking the research problem to a theory and a method, which in turn has implications for what types of data is needed and how it will be gathered, as well as for what types of conclusions it will be possible to draw. A research design, thus, has to be judged from the criteria of whether it will be meaningful and effective with regard to the posed problem and the inferences the researcher is interested in making. An important consideration is also what is practically achievable with regard to time and data availability.

Each step in the research process involves a number of choices about the theoretical approach, methodology, the type of data to be used, and so on. Box 1.1 introduces a series of questions involved in the research process that relates to these different steps. These choices are very similar regardless of whether you are writing an undergraduate, Master’s or PhD thesis, or are involved in a research project that spans several years. In a term paper or a conflict analysis that includes an empirical analysis, the research problem or research task may already be formulated, but there is still a need to attend to other elements in the research process.

This book provides only one piece of the puzzle of understanding the processes and different steps involved in doing peace research. It should be read in combination with other textbooks that focus on other aspects of the research process. The first step in any research project entails the important task of identifying, formulating, and motivating a research question. One excellent guide to formulating a research question and to the practice of writing scientific papers is The Craft of Research by Booth et al (2008). Standard methodology textbooks also provide insights into finding research questions and problems, but mainly focus on issues related to the other steps in the research process, such as choice of methodological approach, case selection, analysis and inference. Useful textbooks include Doing Research: Methods of inquiry for conflict analysis (Druckman, 2005); Theory and Methods of Social Research (Galtung, 1967a); Designing Social Enquiry: Scientific inference in qualitative research (King et al, 1994); and Case Studies and Theory Development in the Social Sciences (George and Bennet, 2005). Few textbooks discuss the construction of theory, but one useful example is The Fundamentals of Political Science Research (Kellstedt and Whitten, 2009). There are also a number of specialized books and articles that address specific problems and techniques on qualitative and quantitative data analysis.

This book is primarily concerned with the fourth step in the research process – data/ information – which is usually not so well covered in standard textbooks. It focuses on how choices about information gathering can be improved and how the uncertainties in our inferences can be better evaluated. It also highlights the interlinkages between data and choice of method, as well as the importance of theory for the choice of methodology and information-generating process. We discuss the type of sources and information available for peace researchers: what information do you find where? And what are the strengths and limitations of different types of sources, such as news media sources, surveys and interview-based material? We also discuss the challenges related to the process of research and information gathering. These challenges relate both to how the choice of method (for instance national survey versus in-depth interviews) shape the information that can be obtained and to how practical and ethical aspects of research in violent societies (for instance access and security for the researcher and informants) influence the study of conflict. The process of research includes a number of elements, determined and influenced by the purpose of the research. The process of gathering information will appear very different depending on whether you are doing desk research or if the study also entails a field research component to collect information via interviews, focus groups, surveys or other techniques. The main distinction between desk research and field research relates to the interaction with research subjects and the research context. While desk research builds on existing sources (both primary and secondary), field research entails direct observation and interaction with humans as research subjects and thus has an influence on the information-gathering process itself.

Box 1.1 The Research Process

1. RESEARCH QUESTION

What is the research gap that motivates my study?

What is the purpose and research question of my study?

2. THEORY

What are the common theories in previous research dealing with or related to my topic?

What is my theoretical framework/causal story/main argument?

What are the definitions of key concepts in my theoretical framework/causal story/main argument?

Can I formulate a hypothesis (hypotheses) from my theoretical framework/causal story/main argument?

3. METHODS AND CASE SELECTION

What are the reasons behind choosing the method(s) that will be in the study?

How can I describe how the method(s) will be used (applied) to analyze the empirical material of my study?

How do I translate my key theoretical concepts into terms that can be observed in the material I will analyze (operational definitions)?

What are the criteria for selecting my cases?

What time period have I selected for my analysis and what are the reasons for the focus?

4. DATA/INFORMATION

What kind of information do I need to answer the research question and to explore/test my theories?

How will I go about gathering such information?

How do I assess the information I have gathered?

What are the main problems relating to the information I have gathered?

How will I structure and present the empirical part(s) of my study?

5. ANALYSIS

How do I present and interpret the main results?

Are there interesting variations in my results?

How do I interpret additional relevant observations emerging from the analysis and the material?

What objections can I identify to the results reported and to my interpretations of the results?

What has my study contributed to the general field?

What are the implications of my study for future research and policy?

Source: Adopted from teaching material by Mats Hammarström, Department of Peace and Conflict Research, Uppsala University.

Generally, data collection and evaluation are improved by a systematic and transparent approach. The very essence of good scientific practice is to be systematic in the data-gathering process, to be clear about how the information was obtained, and to report on the procedures. A systematic approach in terms of procedures and information gathering allows for assessment of the potential biases and uncertainties. In addition, a systematic and transparent approach ensures a degree of protection against subjectivity. Research may never be fully free from bias. As students and researchers we are influenced by our pre-existing understanding of the world. But with explicitness in terms of the choices made and the procedures used, problems can be reduced and comparisons with alternative approaches are made possible.

Different types of sources and information

Different types of sources provide different types of information and are accessed using different methods. Consequently, the methods required to gather information depend to a large extent on what type or types of information are to be collected. In this section we provide a rough guide to where and how different types of information about conflicts can be found. In our experience, these are the types of information that you will typically find using the methods and sources described in this book. We cover the most commonly used methods and sources, but it is by no means an exhaustive list. There are, moreover, considerable overlaps and many types of information can be gathered using a variety of methods and sources and it is often a good idea to combine them. Combining sources is important to ensure that different aspects of the same phenomenon are covered, thereby improving construct validity (see more in Chapters 4, 6 and 8). Even if only one type of source or information-gathering method is used (for instance news reports or interviews), it is always important to have more than one original source to establish the veracity of the information (see Chapter 3). Using more than one original source and combining different sources are both commonly referred to as triangulation of information.

Descriptions of reality and events unfolding in a conflict situation are almost always contested and there are many potential sources of bias and error. News articles, reports and memoirs are written with an intended audience in mind. For this reason, researchers always have to be critical and question the authenticity of the source, its potential biases, whether it is first-hand or second-hand information, and so on. These issues are dealt with in detail in subsequent chapters in the book. Here we provide an outline of and guide to where different types of information can be found.

Conflict behavior, actors, events and issues

Who does what to whom, where and when? News media generally provide the most extensive and up-to-date information on conflict behavior, actors, events and issues. Given that you make use of a wide variety of different types of media sources, there are few if any sources that can rival the scope of coverage provided by news media concerning these issues. Written narratives provided by scholars and NGOs are also good sources for this type of information, but their coverage tends to be more selective than the news media coverage. However, certain types of information, such as information on sexual violence and human-rights abuses are often better covered by reports issued by specialized organizations, such as monitoring agencies and human rights NGOs.

Moreover, while news media are fairly good at covering the top of the decision-making pyramid and what transpires on the ground, they are typically not so good at covering mid-level decision-making – the critical connection (or sometimes disconnection) between top-level decision-making and events on the ground. Interviews and surveys can provide supplementary, and sometimes critical, information on conflict behavior...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Boxes, figures and tables
• About the contributors
• Acknowledgements
• Part I. Introduction
• Part II. Evaluating Information
• Part III. The Practice of Information Gathering
• Part IV. Conclusions
• Bibliography
• Index