Understanding peace research : methods and challenges / edited by Kristine Höglund and Magnus Öberg.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Höglund, Kristine.

Öberg, Magnus.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Peace--Research.

Peace.

Peace--Research--Methodology.

Conflict management--Research.

Conflict management.

Conflict management--Research--Methodology.

Physical Description:

xi, 224 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm

Place of Publication:

Abingdon, Oxon ; New York : Routledge, 2011.

Summary:

This textbook provides a comprehensive overview of different methods and sources for information gathering for peace research, 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 conflict, parties have incentives to misrepresent information 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 research means that access to and the security of informants can be a problem.

Peace 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 studies, conflict resolution, war studies, development studies, security studies and IR, as well as for NGO workers/researchers. Book jacket.

Contents:

Part I Introduction 1

1 Doing Empirical Peace Research / Kristine Höglund Höglund, Kristine, Magnus Öberg Öberg, Magnus 3

2 The Origins of Contemporary Peace Research / Peter Wallensteen Wallensteen, Peter 14

Part II Evaluating Information 33

3 Peace Research and Source Criticism: Using historical methodology to improve information gathering and analysis / Tomislav Dulic Dulic, Tomislav 35

4 Gathering Conflict Information Using News Resources / Magnus Öberg Öberg, Magnus, Margareta Sollenberg Sollenberg, Margareta 47

5 News Reports versus Written Narratives: Collecting information using different types of empirical sources / Frida Möller Möller, Frida 74

Part III The Practice of Information Gathering 89

6 Systematic Data Collection: Experiences from the Uppsala Conflict Data Program / Ralph Sundberg Sundberg, Ralph, Lotta Harbom Harbom, Lotta 91

7 Comparative Field Research in War-torn Societies / Kristine Höglund Höglund, Kristine 114

8 In-depth Interviewing: The process, skill and ethics of interviews in peace research / Karen Brouneus Brouneus, Karen 130

9 Focus Groups: Safety in numbers? / Johanna Soderstrom Soderstrom, Johanna 146

10 Survey Research in Conflict and Post-conflict Societies / Kristine Eck Eck, Kristine 165

Part IV Conclusions 183

11 Improving Information Gathering and Evaluation / Kristine Höglund Höglund, Kristine, Magnus Öberg Öberg, Magnus 185.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780415571975

0415571979

9780415571982

0415571987

OCLC:

664451070