Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t8hqh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-22T22:22:52.009Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

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
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

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

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aberbach, Joel D., and Rockman, Bert A.. 2002. “Conducting and Coding Elite Interviews.” PS: Political Science and Politics 35 (4): 673–76.Google Scholar
Barrett, Christopher B., and Cason, Jeffrey W.. 1997. Overseas Research: A Practical Guide. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.Google Scholar
Comparative Politics Organized Section. 2005. “Symposium: Should Everyone Do Field Work?” APSA-CP 16 (2): 8–18.Google Scholar
Goldstein, Kenneth. 2002. “Getting in the Door: Sampling and Completing Elite Interviews.” PS: Political Science and Politics 35 (4): 669–72.Google Scholar
Howard, Marc Morje. 2004. “Obtaining and Recording Data.” Qualitative Methods Newsletter 2 (1): 7–10. http://www.asu.edu/clas/polisci/cqrm/Newsletter.html.Google Scholar
Leech, Beth L, ed. 2002. “Symposium: Interview Methods in Political Science.” PS: Political Science and Politics 35 (4): 663–88.Google Scholar
Lieberman, Evan S. 2004. “Preparing for Field Research.” Qualitative Methods 2 (1): 3–7. http://www.asu.edu/clas/polisci/cqrm/Newsletter.html.Google Scholar
Lynch, Julia. 2004. “Tracking Progress While in the Field.” Qualitative Methods 2 (1): 10–12. http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/moynihan/programs/cqrm/newsletters/Newsletter2.1.pdf.Google Scholar
Moehler, Devra C. 2005. “Off to the Field.” APSA-CP 16 (2): 16–18.Google Scholar
Munck, Gerardo, and Snyder, Richard N.. 2007a. “Juan J. Linz: Political Regimes and the Quest for Knowledge.” In Passion, Craft, and Method in Comparative Politics. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 150–209.10.56021/9780801884634Google Scholar
Munck, Gerardo, and Snyder, Richard N.. 2007b. “Theda Skocpol: States, Revolutions, and the Comparative Historical Imagination.” In Passion, Craft, and Method in Comparative Politics. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 649–707.Google Scholar
Qualitative Methods Organized Section. 2004. “Symposium: Field Research.” Qualitative Methods 2 (1): 2–15. http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/moynihan/programs/cqrm/newsletters/Newsletter2.1.pdf.Google Scholar
Woliver, Laura R. 2002. “Ethical Dilemmas in Personal Interviewing.” PS: Political Science and Politics 35 (4): 677–78.Google Scholar
Wood, Elisabeth Jean. 2007. “Field Research.” In Oxford Handbook of Comparative Politics, ed. Boix, Carles and Stokes, Susan. New York: Oxford University Press, 123–46.Google Scholar