Taking sides?: issues of bias and partisanship when researching socio-political conflict
The article unpacks the issues of bias and partisanship - and the risk of being accused of these - which confront social scientists who study socio-political conflict. Drawing on the author’s experience when conducting research on the conflict between animal liberation activists and their state and...
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Format: | Electronic Article |
Language: | English |
Published: |
2017
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In: |
Critical criminology
Year: 2017, Volume: 25, Issue: 2, Pages: 231-244 |
Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
Journals Online & Print: | |
Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
Keywords: |
Summary: | The article unpacks the issues of bias and partisanship - and the risk of being accused of these - which confront social scientists who study socio-political conflict. Drawing on the author’s experience when conducting research on the conflict between animal liberation activists and their state and corporate adversaries in Britain (1999-2014), the article argues for a relational research approach - focusing on the interaction between contending parties, rather than study stakeholders singly - as a way to overcome challenges of taking sides when studying socio-political conflict. The debate generated by Howard Becker’s classic essay "Whose side are we on?" (1967), now 50 years old, is used throughout the article as a point of reference for addressing the issues involved. The argument is made for constant reflexivity during research on radical social movements, and for "temporary bias" during qualitative fieldwork. |
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Item Description: | Literaturverzeichnis: Seite 243-244 |
ISSN: | 1572-9877 |
DOI: | 10.1007/s10612-017-9355-x |