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Field Research in Developing Countries: Hitting the Road Running

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 April 2009

Shareen Hertel ,
Matthew M. Singer  and
Donna Lee Van Cott
Shareen Hertel
Affiliation:
University of Connecticut
Matthew M. Singer
Affiliation:
University of Connecticut
Donna Lee Van Cott
Affiliation:
University of Connecticut
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Extract

The availability of relatively reliable and comparable data online and the increasing emphasis on statistical and formal research methods has led many political scientists to dismiss research in foreign countries as a waste of time and money. We leave that debate to others (see, e.g., Comparative Politics Organized Section 2005; Qualitative Methods Organized Section 2004). Instead, we offer suggestions for maximizing the contributions of fieldwork to the production of original research. We pay particular attention to research in developing countries owing to the unique challenges of undertaking research there, but we believe our insights are applicable to field research more generally.

Type
Symposium
Information
PS: Political Science & Politics , Volume 42 , Issue 2 , April 2009 , pp. 305 - 309
Copyright
Copyright © The American Political Science Association 2009

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