Safer Field Research in the Social Sciences: A Guide to Human and Digital Security in Hostile Environments

Exploring the challenges and risks of social science fieldwork, this book shares best practice for conducting research in hostile environments and pragmatic advice to help you make good decisions.

Drawing on the authors’ experiences in regions of conflict and grounded in real-world examples, the book:

- Provides practical guidance on important considerations like choosing a research question in sensitive contexts

- Gives advice on data and digital security to help you minimize fieldwork risk in a contemporary research environment

- Offers tools and templates you can use to develop a tailored security framework

Building your understanding of the challenges of on-the-ground research, this book empowers you to meet the challenges of your research landscape head on.

Jannis Grimm is Associate Researcher in the Center for Middle Eastern and North African Politics at the Freie Universität Berlin.

Kevin Koehler is Professor and Director of the Program on Governance and Local Development at the University of Gothenburg.

Ellen Lust is a Professor in the Department of Political Science and the Founder and Director of the Program on Governance and Local Development at the University of Gothenburg. She received her M.A. in Modern Middle East and North African Studies (1993) and PhD in Political Science (1997) from the University of Michigan. She has conducted research and engaged in policy dialogue across the Middle East, including Egypt, Jordan, Libya, Malawi, Morocco, Palestine, Syria, and Tunisia, as well as in Sub-Saharan Africa. She has served as an advisor and consultant to such organizations as the UNDP, UN Democracy Fund, The World Bank, USAID, Carter Center, Freedom House, and NDI. Ellen has authored numerous books and articles, including Structuring Contestation in the Arab World (Cambridge University Press, 2005); Political Participation in the Middle East and North Africa (Lynne Rienner Press, 2008), co-edited with Saloua Zerhouni; Taking to the Streets: Activism and the Arab Uprisings (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2014), co-edited with Lina Khatib and Trust, Voice and Incentives: Learning from Local Successes in Service Delivery in the Middle East and North Africa (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2015) in collaboration with Hana Brixi and Michael Woolcock. Her research has been supported by foundations such as the Moulay Hicham Foundation, National Science Foundation, Social Science Research Council, FORMAS and the Swedish Research Council. (See gld.gu.se for further information.)

Ilyas Saliba is Research Fellow in the Research Unit Democracy and Democratization at WZB Berlin Social Science Center.

Isabell Schierenbeck is Professor, School of Global Studies at University of Gothenburg.