BSSn4495:
Qualitative
research in
security
studies
Archival work and
elite interviews
May 25, 2021
Miriam Matejova, PhD
Agenda
• Dos and don’ts:
–Archival work
–Elite interviewing
Archival work: key questions
• What types of sources may help you answer
your questions? Where can you find these
sources? Are they available?
• How will you navigate the archival system?
• How will you know your evidence once you
find it?
• Who wrote the original source and what
incentives/disincentives may they have had?
Elite interviews: key questions
• What do you want to learn?
• What types of answers do you think you will
get?
• How do you choose people to interview? How
do you gain access to them?
• What incentives/disincentives do your
interviewees have?
• Are interviews necessary? Can you learn the
same from secondary sources?
Research design
1) Research puzzle: Did something happen that’s contrary to
theoretical expectations?
2) Research question: Why did the puzzling thing happen?
3) Literature: What literature exists on this topic? What does it say in
general?
4) Theoretical framework: What theoretical framework do you want to
use to answer the question?
5) Hypotheses: What is the potential answer to your question?
6) Methodology: How do you plan to answer your question? E.g., what
cases do you want to look at and how will they help you answer the
question?
7) Significance: Why is it important to ask and answer your research
question? What contributions to the exiting knowledge will your
work make?
8) Roadmap: What structure will your research have?