Challenges of field work for research in Mexico in the context of generalized mistrust and violence

• In Event: 1123 - Practice Symposium- Lightning Round on Tricks of the Trade: Building a Tool-Kit for Sociologists in Practice Settings

Abstract

Field work is a crucial component in the research developed in Sociology. It is an exercise that enriches not only by the information that is collected but also by the contact with the subjects on which it is investigated. Contact with people is a valuable element that can sometimes redirect the path to research objectives and question the goals and ways of achieving them.
Empirical research has a great tradition in Sociology, and the challenges that have usually been faced now have new perspectives depending on the context in which the work is performed. In the case of Mexico, the social phenomena that are studied are mediated by an atmosphere of mistrust, distrust of public and private actors without exception, generated mainly by the high crime, violence and lack of rule of law that is experienced throughout the country.
In my presentation, I will discuss some of the challenges that, as a private sector researcher, along with my team, we have faced in the past 2 years; These challenges concern not only security issues in the face of daily violence but also of methodology, resources, organizational and various aspects that involve the efficient approximation to the public. While these processes will be exposed from the perspective of what happens in Mexico, it also serves as a contrast to similar processes that are may be happening in other countries of the region (Central America and the rest of Latin America) and the rest of the world where there are also phenomena of rapid and sometimes violent changes of the public space that are affecting the social coexistence and thus the research developed from the Social Sciences.

Author

• Carlos Lopez