Abstract
In the context of a steady increase in the number of postgraduate, post-doctoral and established researchers conducting fieldwork on peace and conflict-related themes internationally, this chapter explores the challenges associated with researching identity groups, communities or geographical locations which have been deemed ‘over-researched’. Having first explored and problematized the label of an ‘over-researched society’, and the reasons why some individuals, communities and locations garner more research attention than others, the chapter seeks to sensitize the reader to the potential constraints and compromises which go with the over-researched territory, and to provide practical advice and strategies to consider before, during and subsequent to conducting field research.
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Notes
- 1.
Based at the University of Essex, the UK Data Archive provides access to the largest collection of social science and humanities data in the UK. Available at: https://www.data-archive.ac.uk/.
- 2.
The Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) is a long-standing archive of over 500,000 social science data sets. Available at: https://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/.
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Kelly, G. (2021). Researching Over-Researched Societies. In: Mac Ginty, R., Brett, R., Vogel, B. (eds) The Companion to Peace and Conflict Fieldwork. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-46433-2_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-46433-2_4
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