Doing Fieldwork in Challenging Environments

About

You will learn how to plan, prepare and conduct field research in particularly challenging environments, such as closed/authoritarian political settings and conflict/post-conflict/post-war contexts.

Course leader

Vera Axyonova is Assistant Professor / Lecturer at the University of Birmingham and founding Co-chair of the ECPR Research Network on Statehood, Sovereignty and Conflict. She has extensive experience in conducting research in closed / authoritarian political environments, highly volatile conflict and post-conflict settings, and in the context of war. Vera's research and teaching expertise include international security and conflict management, cross-border transfer of values, norms and practices, as well as crisis knowledge production and policy evaluation. She specialises in methods such as reflexive interviewing, expert and elite interviews, focus groups, ethnographic fieldwork in challenging and sensitive contexts, research ethics, and data management. Vera has offered methods training in these areas at various universities across the globe, including the University of Birmingham, George Washington University, Justus-Liebig University Giessen, German-Kazakh University, University of Latvia, University of Tartu. She also taught at the pre-conference workshop series for early career researchers at the European Society for Central Asian Studies (ESCAS) Conference in 2023.

Target group

Social science researchers

Course aim

This course focuses on planning, preparing and conducting field research in challenging environments. These include closed and authoritarian political settings, as well as conflict, post-conflict, and post-war contexts. With the emphasis on ethical and practical considerations, the course provides hands-on training across key aspects of fieldwork, including risk assessment and mitigation, the application of common field research methods, data management, and re-entry into the field.

The course particularly suited to participants specialising in peace and conflict studies, international relations, and the studies of forced migration and authoritarianism.

Fee info