Overseas Research: A Practical Guide

When conducting research in developing countries, an ability to negotiate a bewildering array of cultural and logistical obstacles is essential. Overseas Research: A Practical Guide distills essential lessons from scores of students and scholars who have collected data and done fieldwork abroad, including how to prepare for the field, how and where to find funding for one’s fieldwork, issues of personal safety and security, and myriad logistical and relational issues.

By encouraging researchers to think through the challenges of research before they begin it, Overseas Research will help prepare fieldworkers for the practical, logistical, and psychological considerations of very demanding work, help save valuable time, make the most of scarce financial resources, and enhance the quality of the field research. This third edition contains new material on social media, including representation of research subjects/collaborators, students’ digital branding and image, and representing universities abroad when posting publicly. It also covers emerging technologies such as solar panels for power in remote locations, new ways of digitally sending and receiving money, and incorporates more perspectives of women, LGBTQ+ people, and people of color researching abroad.

The book will be of interest to overseas fieldworkers, and also to undergraduates in subjects such as anthropology, economics, geography, history, international studies, politics, sociology, and development studies.

Christopher B. Barrett is the Stephen B. and Janice G. Ashley Professor of Applied Economics and Management, International Professor of Agriculture, Professor of Economics, and Professor of Global Development at Cornell University, USA.

Jeffrey Cason is Provost and the Edward C. Knox Professor of International Studies and Political Science at Middlebury College, USA.

Erin C. Lentz is Assistant Professor of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin, USA.