Description
Book SynopsisThis edited collection of first-person stories about risk in the field offers an arsenal of practical examples where fieldworkers have attempted to negotiate the complexities and risks of field research. Field research can be a risky and dangerous journey where the line between safety and danger can be crossed in quick time, often with little warning. These risks manifest in diverse and novel ways. They can be physical and psychological, ephemeral and enduring. They can impact the researchers, participants, collaborators and interviewees. Indeed, they can condition the very foundation of our processes of knowledge production. Fieldwork is no small stakes game. Covering research from Afghanistan, Chad, DR Congo, Greece, the Horn of Africa, Iraq, Laos, Lebanon, Palestine, India, Indonesia, Mexico, The Netherlands, Vietnam and Australia, each chapter highlights diverse, eclectic, raw and vulnerable narratives about risks experienced before, during and after the conduct of this research. This book is of great value to inexperienced and experienced fieldworkers alike.
Trade Review“Navigating Fieldwork in the Social Sciences is one of the most honest and courageous books on fieldwork I have read. … More than a must-read for field researchers, I hope these contributions beget more honesty and courage from similarly situated scholars, and in this way ease the sufferings and help in the struggle toward egalitarian knowledge production.” (Chester Antonino C. Arcilla, IQAS, International Quarterly for Asian Studies, Vol. 53 (4), 2022)
Table of ContentsPreface
1. Introduction: Collecting Stories, Nicholas Apoifis, Phillip Wadds, Susanne Schmeidl & Kim Spurway
2. Sex In The Academy/Sex In The Field: Bodies Of Ethics In Activist Research, Zahra Zsuzsanna Stardust
3. Sitting With The Mess, Caroline Lenette
4. Fear And Loathing In The Cross: Researching The Policing Of Nightlife In Sydney, Phillip Wadds
5. Doing Critical Drugs Research: From Deconstructing To Encountering Risk, George Dertadian
6. ‘I Hope Little Worms Die In Your Arse’: Fieldwork, Anarchists, Fascists, And Academic Snitches, Nick Apoifis
7. Doing Elite Interviews In Feminist Research: Confessions Of A Born-Again Observationist, Louise Chappell
8. Risking The Self: Vulnerability And Its Uses In Research, Tanya Jakimow
9. Enter The Dragon: Coming Of Age As Blond, White, Female Researcher In Fragile Contexts, Susanne Schmeidl
10. ‘If You Want To Know About Evil, Ask The Devil’: Research In Post-Conflict Countries, Kim Spurway
11. Conclusion: Sharing Stories, Kim Spurway
Index
