Establishing research legitimacy in the contested political ground of contemporary Northern Ireland

Abstract

Abstract:Despite the plethora of literature on the macro politics of Northern Ireland, there is a dearth of material on grassroots activity, in particular the dynamic between communities and paramilitary groups which enforce 'law and order' in working class areas. Political progress in the form of the Belfast Agreement (1998) has overshadowed the ongoing level of violence at the micro level and the voice of victims remains unheard in the search to attain a greater goal -a long-term political and constitutional settlement. This paper examines the methodological difficulties in establishing research legitimacy in the contested political arenas of Northern Ireland.It considers issues of access, establishing the researchers' bona fides, openness and transparency, language and personal security, and offers some insights into research in sensitive topics.

Status, gender and geography: power negotiations in police research

“…Researching conflict zones can be dangerous, and establishing legitimacy can be fraught with problems (Knox, 2001). Thus, my decision to focus on the under-researched policing aspects of the conflict was a deliberate strategy to gain police trust.…”

“…This discussion will be against the backdrop of the complex nature of conducting police research in conflict-ridden zones (cf. Haer and Becher, 2012;Knox, 2001) and how ethical dilemmas were negotiated.…”

A Politics of Doing Social Research for Fishery Biologists, Managers and Industry

“…Finally, that the study was based at the University of Tasmania, not in the Tasmanian Government Fisheries Department, added to a perception in the industry that the study was independent and fair (cf. Knox, 2001). Together, these factors contributed to my generating a large sample which was crucial to my resulting assessment's industry-credibility and management-utility.…”

Researching Ulster Loyalism: The Methodological Challenges of the Divisive and Sensitive Subject

“…Conversely, Nigel Fielding (1990) has warned of the dangers inherent in becoming too close to interview subjects in sensitive contexts. Colin Knox argued that researchers in sensitive contexts should strive towards a balanced approach to methodology which aims at establishing research legitimacy (Knox, 2001), while for Jeffrey Sluka (1990) the guiding principle behind research relationships should be rather the safety of the researcher, secured via a process of ‘impression management’. As Richard Jenkins (1993) has noted, the complications occasioned by research in these environments gives cause for the supplementation of ethnographic methods with other processes of data collection.…”