International Organizations and Research Methods: An Introduction

Scholars have studied international organizations (IOs) in many disciplines, thus generating important theoretical developments. Yet a proper assessment and a broad discussion of the methods used to research these organizations are lacking. Which methods are being used to study IOs and in what ways? Do we need a specific methodology applied to the case of IOs? What are the concrete methodological challenges when doing research on IOs? International Organizations and Research Methods: An Introduction compiles an inventory of the methods developed in the study of IOs under the five headings of Observing, Interviewing, Documenting, Measuring, and Combining. It does not reconcile diverging views on the purpose and meaning of IO scholarship, but creates a space for scholars and students embedded in different academic traditions to reflect on methodological choices and the way they impact knowledge production on IOs.

Table of Contents:
INTRODUCTION. Rethinking Methods of Investigation and International Organizations Fanny Badache, Leah R. Kimber and Lucile Maertens PART 1. OBSERVING Introduction: Observing Fanny Badache, Leah R. Kimber and Lucile Maertens Chapter 1. Direct Observation Kari De Pryck and Svenja Rauch Box a. Observing Spatial Practices Fiona McConnell Box b. Digital Observation Mélanie Albaret Chapter 2. Participant Observation Leah R. Kimber and Lucile Maertens Box c. Multipositionality Simon Tordjman Box d. Carnal Sociology Julie Patarin-Jossec Box e. Exiting Fieldwork Frédéric Mérand Chapter 3. Ethnographic Interviews Leah R. Kimber and Emilie Dairon Box f. Reversed Photo-Elicitation Leah R. Kimber Interlude I. Frictions of Distance and Proximity. Observing IOs in Action Birgit Müller PART 2. INTERVIEWING Introduction: Interviewing Fanny Badache, Leah R. Kimber and Lucile Maertens Chapter 4. Surveys Clara Egger and Monique J. Beerli Box g. Languages and Interviews James Worrall Box h. Focus Groups Marie Saiget Chapter 5. Semi-Structured Interviews Mélanie Albaret and Joan Deas Box i. Interviewing “Beneficiaries” Lucie Laplace Box j. Asymetrical interviews Emilie Dairon Chapter 6. Biographic Interviews Monique J. Beerli Box k. Online Interviews Leah R. Kimber Interlude II. Controversies in Interview Research Annabelle Littoz-Monnet PART 3. DOCUMENTING Introduction: Documenting Fanny Badache, Leah R. Kimber and Lucile Maertens Chapter 7. Legal Research Ian Hurd Chapter 8. Archives Ellen J. Ravndal Box l. Visual Archives Valérie Gorin Chapter 9. Visual Methods Valérie Gorin Box m. Analyzing Maps Benoît Martin Box n. Branding Analysis Stefan Tschauko Box o. Artifact Analysis Julian Eckl Chapter 10. Document Analysis: a praxiographic approach Christian Bueger Box p. Semiology of Websites Camille Rondot Box q. Analyzing Tweets Matthias Hofferberth Chapter 11. Discourse Analysis Audrey Alejandro, Marion Laurence and Lucile Maertens Box r. Studying Ideas Olivier Nay Chapter 12. Statistics and Quantification Roser Cussó and Laure Piguet Box s. Analyzing Charts, Infographics and Dataviz Benoît Martin Chapter 13. Budget Analysis Svanhildur Thorvaldsdottir and Ronny Patz Interlude III. What IOs Talk about When They Talk about Themselves, and How They Do It Davide Rodogno PART 4. MEASURING Introduction: Measuring Fanny Badache, Leah R. Kimber and Lucile Maertens Chapter 14. Voting Analysis Erik Voeten Chapter 15. Statistical Analyses with IO Data Fabien Cottier and Heidrun Bohnet Box t. Navigating Human Resource Statistics Fanny Badache Chapter 16. Large-N Data and Quantitative Analyses Charles B. Roger Chapter 17. Computerized Text Analysis Mor Mitrani and Inbar Noy Chapter 18. Multiple Correspondence Analysis Constantin Brissaud Box u. Building Databases on Individuals Kseniya Oksamytna Chapter 19. Social Network Analysis Anna-Luise Chané Interlude IV. Challenging IOs through Numbers Simon Hug PART 5. COMBINING Introduction: Combining Fanny Badache, Leah R. Kimber and Lucile Maertens Chapter 20. Interviews and Observations Kari De Pryck Box v. Challenging Secrecy Olivier Schmitt Chapter 21. Observation, Interviews and Archives Marieke Louis Chapter 22. Computational Text Analysis and Archival Methods Evan Easton-Calabria and William Allen Chapter 23. Qualitative Comparative Analysis Ryan Federo Chapter 24. Structured, Focused Comparison Vytautas Jankauskas, Steffen Eckhard and Jörn Ege Chapter 25. Process Tracing Svenja Rauch Chapter 26. Prosopography Aykiz Dogan and Frédéric Lebaron Box w. Research with LinkedIn Monique J. Beerli Chapter 27. Practice Analysis Vincent Pouliot Chapter 28. Feminist Approaches Georgina Holmes Box x. Postcolonial Insights Soumita Basu Box y. Reflexivity in Practice Audrey Alejandro Chapter 29. Composing Collages: Working at the Edge of Disciplinary Boundaries Anna Leander Box z. Expeditions as a Research Method Doaa Abdel-Motaal Interlude V. Controversies on Methodological Pluralism J. Samuel Barkin

About the Author :
Fanny Badache is a Post-Doctoral Researcher at the Geneva Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies. Leah R. Kimber is a Post-Doctoral Fellow at Columbia University and Research Associate at the University of Geneva. Lucile Maertens is Senior Lecturer in International Relations at the University of Lausanne.

Review :
“This book is a terrific achievement. It not only provides the novice and the experienced researcher with a complete menu of methods to choose from when analyzing international organizations. The authors also take care to address cross-cutting questions of epistemology, positionality, and research ethics that we should all be aware of.” “Politicians, pundits, and the public undervalue international organizations. Too few scholars understand enough about the nuts-and-bolts to dispel this inaccurate image. Not the team assembled in these pages, however. They detail not only why institutions matter but how to analyze these essential actors in contemporary world politics.” “This book is original and innovative, as it is the first companion to provide a broad and thoughtful inventory of research methods used in the social sciences and humanities to understand what international organizations are and what they do: so very helpful!” “International Organizations and Research Methods fills a gaping hole in the IO literature and will be particularly valuable to graduate students and IO researchers with its diversity of methods and authors covering a range of UN specialized agencies and IOs in different issue areas and regions. The book's introduction provides a very useful overview of what the book aims to do and not do and how the editors define methods as a reflexive part of the research process. The innovative use of boxes is a great way to present specific tools and ‘tricks,’ including interviewing in a foreign language and analyzing tweets.” "[The book] will be useful for students looking for an entry point into a fascinating social world; for researchers wanting to dabble in new methods; for lecturers integrating case-studies from international politics in their teaching; and for practitioners seeking to understand how research is conducted on their employer(s). Consequently, the book provides the first systematic survey of how scholars of international organizations think about their research subject, their own positionality, and their interactions with the institutions themselves."