Research in Violent or Post-Conflict Political Settings

Abstract

"Political violence research" encompasses research on a range of phenomena and settings in which the use, threat, or legacy of physical coercion imbues struggles over power, resources, and meaning, including violence by organized criminal groups, as well as research conducted in such contexts. Based on feedback from the broader research community, this report discusses the benefits, costs, and risks of adopting various forms of openness and transparency in political violence research and identifies the appropriateness and constraints of different approaches.

Keywords: qualitative methods, research transparency, political violence, civil conflict, war, research ethics, human subjects protection, Qualitative Transparency Deliberations