Research Methods in Counterinsurgency Warfare: Lessons Learned From an Embedded Political Scientist

Abstract

Conducting social science research in conflict zones (or other hazardous environments) poses a multitude of difficulties not often found in a strictly academic setting. Besides the obvious threat of physical harm or death, researchers operating amid the chaos of war face methodological difficulties including efforts to maintain validity and reliability, minimizing measurement error, attempting to generalize from a limited sample size, cultural biases, language barriers, and a myriad of other difficulties. This case study attempts to illustrate some difficulties facing researchers in the field and proposes measures to attempt to mitigate the impact on social science research findings. Furthermore, this study explores the ethical questions and implications facing researchers operating within war zones.

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