Mixed Methods in a Complex Overseas Environment: Space, Place, and Identity Politics in Karachi, Pakistan

Richards, Julian (2019) Mixed Methods in a Complex Overseas Environment: Space, Place, and Identity Politics in Karachi, Pakistan. SAGE Research Methods. (In Press)

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Abstract

This case study concerned an analysis of a new militant movement that emerged in the Pakistani city of Karachi in the 1980s, and which mobilized itself around a new conception of local ethnic identity. The aim of the research was to establish how and why this movement had emerged, and what the implications were for our understanding of identity politics both in Pakistan and in other similar “postcolonial” environments. A further focus of the research was on how a movement of this nature relates to space and place, in the sense of how a developing-world “mega-city” such as Karachi has shaped and influenced the rise of identity politics. The study deployed a combination of qualitative data in the shape of interviews and analysis of political documents and narratives, and quantitative data in the form of electoral and demographic data. The research delivered a number of observations on the challenges and opportunities of conducting research in complex overseas environments. These include the need to build-in contingency time in periods of fieldwork, the importance of logistical and linguistic assistance, and the need to properly consider security considerations in the research design.

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