Conducting research in a conflict zone: reflective remarks and lessons learned from my field experience in Syria

Journal article


Younes, Rami 2025. Conducting research in a conflict zone: reflective remarks and lessons learned from my field experience in Syria. Practice: Contemporary Issues in Practitioner Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/25783858.2025.2473341
AuthorsYounes, Rami
Abstract

In this paper, I will reflect on my field experience in Syria where I conducted semi-structured interviews as part of my doctorate studies to examine the recently ousted Syrian government’s post-war initiatives to reconstruct the education sector. As a thinking piece, the aim of this paper is to provoke questions about the complexity of conducting qualitative research in a conflict zone and what implications this has for data generation and research ethics. The paper emphasises the central role of reflexivity as a ‘methodological process of learning’ about our development as researchers. It also concludes that there is a need to review current research ethics processes so that they can accommodate the needs of a more diverse body of researchers and research contexts.

KeywordsQualitative research; Conflict; Field work; Data generation; Research ethics
Year2025
JournalPractice: Contemporary Issues in Practitioner Education
PublisherTaylor & Francis
ISSN2578-3858
2578-3866
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1080/25783858.2025.2473341
Official URLhttps://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/25783858.2025.2473341?src=
Publication dates
Online06 Mar 2025
Publication process dates
Accepted19 Feb 2025
Deposited17 Mar 2025
Accepted author manuscript
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Open
Output statusPublished
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