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Book ChapterDOI

Conducting field research amid violence : experiences from Colombia

TL;DR: In this article, the authors explore factors that influence field research in Colombia prior to and immediately following the peace accord in 2016, which formally ended the country's 50-year conflict between the government and the largest guerrilla group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (after its Spanish abbreviation FARC).
Abstract: Conducting research in violent environments poses particular challenges for researchers and participants. The current chapter explores factors that influence field research in Colombia prior to and immediately following the peace accord in 2016, which formally ended the country’s 50-year conflict between the government and the country’s largest guerrilla group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (after its Spanish abbreviation FARC). The authors include Colombian and international researchers, practitioners, and academics and offer three proposals. First, working in violent contexts demands that the research is flexible and responds to the participants’ voices and needs. This type of research may be particularly coherent with Participatory Action Research (PAR), which explicitly recognizes the power and agency of local actors who navigate conflict issues on a daily basis. Second, we demonstrate how ongoing violence poses obstacles, offers opportunities, and shapes each phase of investigation, such as research design and data collection. For example, we discuss how to select regions to study that are safe for the team and for participants to engage in research. Relatedly, a strong, local network is essential to research on sensitive social issues relating to on-going conflict dynamics. Third, the inclusion of emerging researchers, particularly from the conflict setting, in the team may increase local capacity as well as the longevity of the project. We reflect on the challenges and opportunities to including emerging researchers and conclude the chapter by suggesting how these issues may apply to other conflict and post-agreement settings.
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, a cross-sectional study with children aged 7 to 11 years was conducted using the Child Behavior Checklist, Family APGAR and MOS social support survey adaptation to children to identify mental health problems among children survivors of Colombia's armed conflict and associated factors.
Abstract: Colombia presents with one of the largest armed conflicts in the world. Children exposed directly or indirectly to armed conflicts live the emotional footprints left by war. This paper aims to identify mental health problems among children survivors of Colombia’s armed conflict and associated factors.,A cross-sectional study with (n = 80) children aged 7 to 11 years (M = 9.8 years; SD = 1.4) was conducted using the Child Behavior Checklist, Family APGAR and MOS social support survey adaptation to children. Linear regression analyses were also performed with emotional and behavioral problems as the outcomes and related factors as the predictors.,Clinical levels of emotional and behavioral problems were found in 56.3% of children. Internalizing problems (63.7%) were more common than externalizing problems (51.2%). Older children had greater emotional problems at the trend level, and those with higher functioning families had lower emotional problems. Children with higher perceived social support had lower behavior problems at the trend level.,This study includes a sample facing multiple risks and uses a holistic approach to consider family and social resources that may support children who are survivors of the armed conflict in Colombia. These results provide a foundation for future promotion and prevention programs related to children’s mental health problems to support peacebuilding within the framework of the Colombian post-conflict process.,To the best of authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to collect empirical data on the mental health of children survivors of Colombia’s armed conflict focused in the Atlantic Department.

6 citations

Book ChapterDOI
30 Aug 2020
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors discuss challenges and risks related to gaining access to a protest setting and becoming part of the group, and highlight the need for continuous negotiations and consideration while in the field to ensure both the participants' and researcher's safety and privacy.
Abstract: Researching protests and activism can contain various challenges, even more so when then the researcher embeds themselves in the protest context. Based on an ethnographic study of an environmental campaign in Sweden we will in this chapter discuss the challenges and risks the first author faced when collecting longitudinal interview and observational data. More specifically, we discuss challenges and risks related to gaining access to a protest setting, gaining access to people, gaining access to stories, maintaining access and trust, and becoming vulnerable and at risk in the field. In particular we discuss advantages, and risks, of the researcher taking sides and positioning themselves on one side of the conflict. We argue that, in the study of the Swedish environmental campaign, taking sides made us better positioned to give a more accurate account of the campaign and campaign participants through understanding the context and phenomena. We will also suggest that taking sides and becoming part of the group – sharing identity – can in some studies increase the researcher’s safety while in the field. We highlight the need for continuous negotiations and consideration while in the field to ensure both the participants’ and researcher’s safety and privacy.

5 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article , the authors explore researcher strategies in contexts characterized by both fragility and closing civic spaces, as well as the obstacles and challenges they face, and highlight four strategies that stand out as common in navigating these challenges and undertaking research successfully.
Abstract: Motivation Fragility and closing civic space present significant challenges for research, making research processes more onerous and difficult, particularly on social and political issues. And yet these contexts may be those that may most need to be researched to understand the trend in democratic backsliding being witnessed in many parts of the world. Purpose How can researchers navigate difficult contexts characterized by fragility and closing space to conduct rigorous yet safe research? We contribute to a growing literature on this question by exploring researcher strategies in contexts characterized by both fragility and closing civic spaces, as well as the obstacles and challenges they face. Methods and approach We draw on the reflections and experiences of researchers directly engaged in managing and undertaking research on social and political action in four contexts affected by varying levels of conflict and violence over a five-year period. Their insights were gathered through observations, informal interviews and discussions over that time, and a focus group discussion. Findings Based on the experiences of these researchers we argue that fragile citizen–state relations make the research process and its associated relationships themselves more fragile, indeterminate, and tentative. We note challenges of access, both formal and informal, low trust, and ethical dilemmas. We then highlight four strategies that stand out as common in navigating these challenges and undertaking research successfully. Policy implications We argue that research in fragile contexts with closing civic spaces needs long-term collaboration with local partners that includes building the capacity of emerging researchers and maintaining close accompaniment to create relationships of equality and a community of practice. This requires such research to be more rather than less involved and engaged with participants and research partners located in these contexts, in contrast to suggestions elsewhere that more remote or virtual engagement is the answer. But this research needs to take account upfront of the inherent challenges and uncertainty of research process, and where findings can be safely shared.

3 citations

Book ChapterDOI
01 Jan 2020
TL;DR: In this article, four scholars discuss insights from their experiences in communicating research about the existence and nature of racial bias to various audiences in the United States, and conclude that various aspects of our own identities (race, gender, professional status) and motivational states (expectations, enthusiasm, uncertainty, threat) intersect with the identities and motivating states of our audiences to influence what we communicate and how we do so.
Abstract: Racial majority and minority groups in the United States often differ in the extent to which they believe that racial bias—including stereotyping, expressions of prejudice, and discrimination— has and continues to influence the opportunities and outcomes of individuals and communities across a wide variety of domains. Communication and dialogue between members of different racial groups is often considered an effective method to combat bias. Through dialogue, members of groups in conflict can learn about relevant issues, seek to understand each other’s perspectives and work together toward productive solutions. However, for a variety of reasons, people from different racial groups are often reluctant to initiate interracial dialogue to discuss racial bias, and often these discussions end with each “side” feeling unheard, misunderstood, rejected, and unlikely to make future attempts to engage. This conflict is present within a variety of organizations that seek to understand and address the challenges and opportunities associated with a diverse workplace. In this chapter, four scholars—a Black woman, a White woman, a Black man, and a White man—team up to discuss insights from their experiences in communicating research about the existence and nature of racial bias to various audiences in the United States. We conclude that various aspects of our own identities (race, gender, professional status) and motivational states (expectations, enthusiasm, uncertainty, threat) intersect with the identities and motivational states of our audiences to influence what we communicate and how we do so. We recommend that researchers and practitioners consider these intersections in their efforts to develop more effective confrontation strategies.

1 citations

Book ChapterDOI
01 Jan 2021
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explore the Sudanese revolution and highlight collective action in high-risk contexts, with stakeholders positioning themselves as direct knowledge producers, and highlight ownership of knowledge production.
Abstract: In December 2018, Sudanese people took to the streets in increasing numbers to topple the Omar Al-Bashir regime. The protests were met with brutal force. People’s collective action was very costly as they risked being arrested or killed, and yet, they still stood their ground. Based on WhatsApp conversations with revolutionaries and discussions among the authors (two of which are revolutionaries), this chapter explores the Sudanese revolution. The chapter has two key aims. First, we want to highlight collective action in high-risk contexts. In settings such as Sudan, extensive, lengthy, and organized collective action was required to overthrow the regime, and this was carried out under repressive conditions. The motivations and the drivers of such collective action are potentially quite different from the ones driving collective action with few or mild ramifications for participants. Exploring real-life resistance with real-life consequences in extreme contexts is a valuable and necessary addition to the collective action literature in psychology, as different theoretical frameworks may be needed to understand such processes. Second, this chapter highlights ownership of knowledge production. This chapter attempts to learn more directly from revolutionaries, with stakeholders positioning themselves as direct knowledge producers. Through this method, the “insider-outsider” dynamics are shifted, providing new insights.

1 citations

References
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is demonstrated how careful use of SSM as a ‘second best’ but still valuable methodology can help generate cooperation and make the difference between research conducted under constrained conditions and research not conducted at all.
Abstract: Conducting research in conflict environments is a challenge, given their complexity and common attitudes of distrust and suspicion. Yet, conflict and methodology are usually analyzed as separate fields of interest. Methodological aspects of field work in conflict environments have not been systematically analyzed. This article addresses the central methodological problems of research conducted in conflict environments. We suggest the use of the snowball sampling method (hereafter, SSM) as an answer to these challenges. The effectiveness of this method has been recognized as significant in a variety of cases, mainly regarding marginalized populations. We claim that in conflict environments, the entire population is marginalized to some degree, making it ‘hidden’ from and ‘hard to reach’ for the outsider researcher. The marginalization explains why it is difficult to locate, access and enlist the cooperation of the research populations, which in a non-conflict context would not have been difficult to do. SS...

567 citations

01 Dec 2008
TL;DR: A partir de las ideas de Orlando Fals Borda en torno a la investigacion participativa, in this article, a relacion de esta con los fines de la Educación Popular, se describe el ciclo de la investigación accion desarrollado in los centros educativos de Fe y Alegria, el cual comprende la observacion de realidad for generar the reflexion sobre la practica, la planificacion y desarrolo de acciones for su mejora
Abstract: A partir de las ideas de Orlando Fals Borda en torno a la investigacion Accion participativa, en este articulo se establece la relacion de esta con los fines de la Educacion Popular y se describe el ciclo de la investigacion accion desarrollado en los centros educativos de Fe y Alegria, el cual comprende la observacion de realidad para generar la reflexion sobre la practica, la planificacion y desarrollo de acciones para su mejora y la sistematizacion de las experiencias para la produccion de conocimientos en el campo de la educacion popular

64 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Ethical issues in research with children and adolescents from their perspective as participants were examined, including: assent, parental consent, risk perception, impact of research participation, and incentives.
Abstract: Background The past 20 years have seen distinct shifts in the way the participation of children and adolescents in research is viewed. This has been emphasized by the growing pediatric research enterprise. Additional information on children's and adolescents’ experiences during research participation is needed to better inform researchers on the ethical conduct of research with this vulnerable population. Aims The objective of this analysis was to examine ethical issues in research with children and adolescents from their perspective as participants, including: assent, parental consent, risk perception, impact of research participation, and incentives. Methods This systematic review was conducted per the Long, Godfrey, Randall, Brettle, and Grant framework by means of an iterative searching process. Using the key words “research ethics” and “child or pediatric or adolescent,” PubMed, CINAHL, and EBSCOhost databases were searched to identify articles. Limitations placed on the searches were: English language, year of publication between 2003 and 2014, humans, abstract available, and age birth–18 years. Findings Twenty-three empiric studies were identified and formed the sample. Included studies represented a diverse range of areas of research, methods, settings, sample demographics, authors, and journals. Linking Evidence to Action Even young children demonstrated the ability to understand essential elements of research, although there is variability in children's level of understanding. Trust was a significant contributing factor to children's and adolescents’ participation in research, and also shaped their assessments of risk. Research participation was mainly beneficial for children and adolescents. Incentives were mainly viewed positively, although concerns of possible undue influence were expressed.

63 citations

01 Jun 2017
TL;DR: In this paper, a systematic review was conducted per the Long, Godfrey, Randall, Brettle, and Grant framework by means of an iterative searching process using the key words “research ethics and “child or pediatric or adolescent,” PubMed, CINAHL, and EBSCOhost databases were searched to identify articles.
Abstract: Background The past 20 years have seen distinct shifts in the way the participation of children and adolescents in research is viewed. This has been emphasized by the growing pediatric research enterprise. Additional information on children's and adolescents’ experiences during research participation is needed to better inform researchers on the ethical conduct of research with this vulnerable population. Aims The objective of this analysis was to examine ethical issues in research with children and adolescents from their perspective as participants, including: assent, parental consent, risk perception, impact of research participation, and incentives. Methods This systematic review was conducted per the Long, Godfrey, Randall, Brettle, and Grant framework by means of an iterative searching process. Using the key words “research ethics” and “child or pediatric or adolescent,” PubMed, CINAHL, and EBSCOhost databases were searched to identify articles. Limitations placed on the searches were: English language, year of publication between 2003 and 2014, humans, abstract available, and age birth–18 years. Findings Twenty-three empiric studies were identified and formed the sample. Included studies represented a diverse range of areas of research, methods, settings, sample demographics, authors, and journals. Linking Evidence to Action Even young children demonstrated the ability to understand essential elements of research, although there is variability in children's level of understanding. Trust was a significant contributing factor to children's and adolescents’ participation in research, and also shaped their assessments of risk. Research participation was mainly beneficial for children and adolescents. Incentives were mainly viewed positively, although concerns of possible undue influence were expressed.

27 citations