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Bermuda triangulation: embracing the messiness of researching in conflict

journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-09, 19:33 authored by Suda PereraSuda Perera
In conflict-affected states, poor transportation infrastructure and risk-averse security protocols can significantly constrain researchers’ ability to access information. Pressure on academics to be methodologically rigorous and produce policy-relevant research means that the problematic nature of the data we use is often obscured and ignored in research outputs. Through an autoethnography of research in the DRC, this article critically discusses the messiness of triangulating information in the field amidst the competing knowledge claims of different actors on the ground. Nonetheless, it argues that information which is messy and difficult to triangulate can itself be a valuable source of conflict knowledge. This knowledge emerges from what is here termed ‘Bermuda Triangulation’—whereby the verification of one piece of information leads to the uncovering of multiple views, which may themselves tell us much about the drivers of conflict.

History

Publication status

  • Published

File Version

  • Published version

Journal

Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding

ISSN

1750-2977

Publisher

Taylor & Francis

Issue

1

Volume

11

Page range

42-57

Department affiliated with

  • International Development Publications

Full text available

  • No

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2019-11-05

First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date

2019-11-05

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