Shawn Flanigan - Conducting Field Research Outside the United States and in Difficult-to-Access Communities

Shawn Flanigan
Assistant Professor, Department of Public Administration, San Diego State University
"Conducting Field Research Outside the United States and in Difficult-to-Access Communities"

This unit focuses on conducting field research outside the United States, and with low-income and other difficult-to-access communities. The emphasis is on the practical considerations of field research. This will include strategies for balancing rigor and flexibility in research design, piloting data collection tools such as interview protocols and surveys, and managing the ways in which the researcher's identity influences field research. The unit also discusses practical aspects important for entering the field and collecting data, and the ethics of leaving the field. In addition to academic readings, the unit will include readings from popular literature, audio recordings of researchers discussing their field work, and hands-on, interactive activities using readings and popular film. The unit gives special attention to the challenges of international field research and of field research with subjects that are difficult to access.

Learning Objectives

Through completion of this unit, students will:

• Understand the process of field research, examining several methodologies;
• Gain an understanding of the dynamic process of collecting field research data and the challenges it provides;
• Distinguish between good, solid and rigorous data collection techniques and unacceptable techniques by academic standards;
• Examine the process of collecting as clean and unbiased data possible in a setting that is not always conducive to collecting clean and unbiased data;
• Design a data collection instrument, collect qualitative data, and analyze qualitative data; and
• Analyze the ways in which the class, ethnicity, gender, language, nationality, race, religion, and other cultural characteristics of both the researcher and the research subjects complicate instrument design, data collection, data analysis, and interpretation of results.

Intended Audience

This curriculum unit has been developed with the following audiences in mind:

• Students with elementary knowledge of research methods at the secondary school, undergraduate, graduate, and executive education levels.

Table of Contents

Teaching Guide

Section 1: Preparing for the Field: Designing Your Research Project

Topic 1.1: What is Field Research?

Topic 1.2: Flexibility in Field Research Design

Topic 1.3: Meaning Making and Designing Data Collection Instruments

Topic 1.4 Considering the Researcher’s Position and Influence on Research Participants

Topic 1.5 Ethical Issues

Section 2: Entering the Field

Topic 2.1: Practical Issues When Entering the Field

Topic 2.2: Contacts and Gatekeepers, Credibility and Rapport

Section 3: In the Field

Topic 3.1: Preparing to Gather Data

Topic 3.2: Language and Cultural Issues

Topic 3.3: Leaving the Field

Activity Guides

Activity 1A: Unexpected Changes in Field Research Design

Activity 1B: Becoming Aware of Varying Perspectives

Activity 3A: Testing Your Data Collection Instrument

Activity 3B: Translating "Trainspotting"

Readings and Resources

Sample Research Instruments

Sample survey

Sample structured interview protocol

Sample semi-structured interview protocol

PowerPoint Presentations

Presentation 1: Preparing for the Field

Presentation 2: Entering the Field

Presentation 3: In the Field

Audio Recordings

Section 1.2: Flexibility in Research Design

1.2 A: Flexibility in research with street children in Romania

1.2 B: Flexibility in research with gang members in the US

1.2 C: Flexibility in research with political elites in Morocco

1.2 D: Flexibility in research with political elites in Mexico

1.2 E: Flexibility in research with NGO employees in Sri Lanka

Section 1.3: Varying Perspectives in Research

1.3 A: Varying perspectives in research with gang members in the US

1.3 B: Varying perspectives in research with political elites in Lebanon and Jordan

1.3 C: Varying perspectives in research with death penalty jurors in the US

1.3 D: Varying perspectives in research with rural villagers in Mexico

1.3 E: Varying perspectives in research with NGO staff in Sri Lanka

1.3 F: Varying perspectives in research with transgender inmates in US

Section 1.4: Researchers' Influence on Research Participants

1.4 A: Researcher identity and gang members in the US

1.4 B: Researcher identity and political elites in Jordan

1.4 C: Researcher identity and jurors and inmates' families in US

1.4 D: Researcher identity and political elites and villagers in Mexico

1.4 E: Researcher identity and members of terrorist organizations in Lebanon

1.4 F: Researcher identity and transgender inmates and at risk youth in US

Section 1.5: Ethical Dilemmas around Offering Assistance to Research Participants

1.5 A: Offering assistance and street children in Romania

1.5 B: Offering assistance and gang members in the US

1.5 C: Other ethical dilemmas and gang members in the US

1.5 D: Offering assistance and families of inmates in the US

1.5 E: Offering assistance and NGO workers, street kids Romania

1.5 F: Offering assistance and transgender inmates in the US

Section 1.5: Ethical Issues and the IRB

1.5 G: IRB and street children in Romania

1.5 H: IRB and gang members in the US

1.5 I: IRB and political elites in the Middle East

1.5 J: IRB and international research with terrorists

Section 2.2: Contacts and Gatekeepers

2.2 A: Contacts, Gatekeepers and street children in Romania

2.2 B: Contacts, Gatekeepers and gang members in the US

2.2 C: Contacts, Gatekeepers and political elites in the Middle East

2.2 D: Contacts, Gatekeepers and death penalty jurors in the US

2.2 E: Contacts, Gatekeepers and village elders in Mexico

2.2 F: Contacts, Gatekeepers and members of terrorist organizations in Lebanon

2.2 G: Contacts, Gatekeepers and at-risk youth in the US

Section 2.2: Health and Safety

2.2 H: Emotional Wellbeing and street children in Romania

2.2 I: Emotional Wellbeing and gang members in the US

2.2 J: Safety Issues and gang members in the US

2.2 K: Emotional Wellbeing and political elites in the Middle East

2.2 L: Safety issues and families of inmates in the US

2.2 M: Safety issues and villagers in Mexico

2.2 N: Emotional Wellbeing and research with NGO staff internationally

2.2 O: Safety concerns and violent conflict in Sri Lanka

2.2 P: Emotional Wellbeing and intimate partner homicide in the US

2.2 Q: Safety concerns and research in prisons in the US

Section 2.4 Credibility, Trust, and Rapport

2.4 A: Affiliation and street children in Romania

2.4 B: Self-Presentation and street children in Romania

2.4 C: Trust and rapport with gang members in the US

2.4 D: Affiliation and gang members in the US

2.4 E: Self-presentation and gang members in the US

2.4 F: Affiliation and political elites in the Middle East

2.4 G: Self-presentation and political elites in the Middle East

2.4 H: Affiliation and legal professionals/ jurors in the US

2.4 I: Self-presentation and legal professionals/ jurors in the US

2.4 J: Trust and rapport with legal professionals and families of inmates in the US

2.4 K: Trust and rapport with public officials in Mexico

2.4 L: Professional credibility and NGO staff in the developing world

2.4 M: Affiliation and NGO staff in the developing world

2.4 N: Self-presentation with NGO staff in the developing world

2.4 O: Trust and rapport with NGO staff in the developing world

2.4 P: Trust and rapport with transgender inmates in the US

2.4 Q: Affiliation and inmates and at-risk youth in the US

2.4 R: Self-presentation with inmates and in courts

Section 3.1 Research Assistants

3.1 A: Research Assistants and street children in Romania

3.1 B: Research assistants and gang members in the US

3.1 C: The Value of Local Research Assistants

Section 3.3 Leaving the Field

3.3 A: Leaving the field- street kids in Romania

3.3 B: Leaving the field- gang members in the US

3.3 C: Leaving the field and death row inmates in the US

3.3 D: Leaving the field and at-risk youth in the US

Materials for this unit can be requested by emailing education@start.umd.edu.

top