The Field Study

Details

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State: Public
Version: Author's accepted manuscript
Serval ID
serval:BIB_62508201F0A5
Type
A part of a book
Publication sub-type
Chapter: chapter ou part
Collection
Publications
Title
The Field Study
Title of the book
Resources and Applied Methods in International Relations
Author(s)
Louis Marieke, Maertens Lucile, Saiget Marie
Publisher
Springer International Publishing
Address of publication
Cham
ISBN
9783319619781
9783319619798
Publication state
Published
Issued date
2017
Editor
Devin Guillaume
Pages
95-108
Language
english
Abstract
Drawing upon the work of anthropologists and sociologists, scholars in political science and international relations (IR) increasingly rely on ethnographic methods. Based on multiple fieldwork experiences, within secretariats of international organizations and on the field of international interventions, this chapter addresses the relevance of such methods and the challenges of their concrete application in IR. It provides a series of concrete practical tricks to anticipate, prepare and conduct a fieldwork. It considers the different types of participation a researcher can adopt and stresses the various dimensions of observation. Finally, it draws attention to the daily challenges of ethnographic methods and suggests solutions to overcome issues of confidentiality and to deal with the effects of immersion. Ethnographic methods are relevant to cover a wide variety of fields and objects and therefore, as the chapter shows, are appropriate to the study of IR. More precisely, this chapter suggests different ways to adapt ethnographic methods to the specificities of international configurations. Doing fieldwork is required not only to study the relationships that structure the processes of internationalization and globalization but also to test the relevance of academic and indigenous categories produced to understand these configurations.
Keywords
Fieldwork, International Relations, International Organizations, Methodology, Observation
Create date
11/01/2018 16:19
Last modification date
20/08/2019 15:19
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