Despite the high
level of research activity in conflict areas around the world, there
has been little attention paid to the actual processes and methods
of conducting research in violently divided societies. Within
a substantial literature on research methods, there is little that directly
addresses the ethical and methodological challenges of researching in
societies experiencing ethnic conflict and other violent upheavals. Often,
researchers working in such circumstances have struggled to connect with
the mainstream research community, yet are left to grapple in isolation
with the special demands made on them in terms of research design, ethics
and analysis.
Since 1997 when a local workshop was held in Northern Ireland INCORE
has developed with partners an ongoing programme of workshops and research
which aims to open the debate on the methodological and ethical challenges
involved in conducting research in violently divided societies and in
particular to:
- Build networks of interested scholars
- Document the experiences of indigenous researchers in conflicted
societies
- Build local research capacity through the workshop and through
the preparation of research resources and training materials
