Qualitative Transparency Deliberations

Thanks Sarah and Abbey. I'm going to push this a bit and suggest that both may never be possible for reasons you already identify (funding source in particular). If this is true, then I might suggest as a discipline, transparency must be owed first to the research subject and then to the academic co...

Thanks Yael for the thoughtful suggestions. I hope others can use this as a starting point to debate what may be both ethical and practical as this process moves forward. 3) What are excellent examples of transparency practices in research in settings of political violence, and what makes them good ...

Thanks Anonymous for sharing your experience. Such posts are certainly welcome and helpful in helping the broader community understand the particular challenges of conducting research on political violence. I hope others will consider sharing their own experiences, anonymously or not. 2) In what way...

Thanks Abbey and Ana. Protecting informants seems like the most pressing concern for those of us who study political violence in relation to transparency and is clearly an issue that we have to raise in relation to DA-RT. I wonder if you both (or others) might reflect on a related issue-- the ways i...

Thanks Jesse. The question of researcher positionality is one that I struggle with constantly. As you point out, an American passport can never be a neutral thing in the context of researching violent groups considering the role of the US in taking sides in conflicts around the world. This is compou...

Thank you for post and for sharing the ASN statement and your own paper Sherrill. I think both are highly relevant and raise important issues about whether research on politics can ever be truly objective especially when dealing with politically sensitive subjects.

The study of political violence has blossomed over the past decade with scholars making substantive advances around an array of important subjects. These advances have relied on a variety of methodological approaches including qualitative studies that deploy archival research, interviews, ethnograph...

What ought “transparency” mean for research in settings of political violence? What is the relationship between transparency and replicability?

2) In what ways does research in settings of political violence present particular risks, costs, or limitations for transparency practices? Are there specific issues related to transparency that arise from the study of political violence that render it distinct from other areas of inquiry?

3) What are excellent examples of transparency practices in research in settings of political violence, and what makes them good models for others? What innovative transparency practices might research on political violence adopt?

4.) To whom is transparency owed-- the academic community, the research subjects, or both? Does transparency only apply to the sharing of data or should it extend to the entire research process (i.e. sources of funding, researcher subjectivity, ideological orientation, etc.)? How can scholars achiev...