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the joys and perils of conducting field research in eastern europe

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Abstract

This article deals with the main obstacles in the way of conducting field research in Eastern Europe. Focusing on Ukraine, the article confronts a number of research design rules with the post-Soviet reality. Taking into consideration cultural and political factors, the article seeks to highlight the challenges that await researchers. Thanks to personal experience acquired in Ukraine, the author points to some of the potential difficulties, as well as opportunities awaiting political scientists conducting research in the region.

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References

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Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Sergiej Dorogunzow, Alexander Ivanov, Viktor Kuzovkov, Katya Nuzhnenko and Erhard Wiehn for supporting my research work in Ukraine, as well as Gerald Schneider, Michael Dobbins and Aleksandra Jasinska for reading and commenting on the article. I am also grateful for financial support from Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes and DAAD.

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Drzewiecka, A. the joys and perils of conducting field research in eastern europe. Eur Polit Sci 6, 295–301 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.eps.2210135

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