Periscoping as a Feminist Methodological Approach for Researching the Seemingly Hidden

This article proposes the metaphor of the periscope to guide an innovative approach to researching topics obstructed from view or out of range of more traditional approaches. Periscoping, it suggests, combines a feminist focus on the everyday with the recognition that no space, even those intentionally obscured, can be fully contained. Drawing on research on U.S. immigration enforcement policies, the article explores how feminist geographers can think creatively about how to arrange the “prisms” and “mirrors” at their disposal to obtain an image of what was previously thought to be unknowable. It then explores potential problems inherent to a periscopic strategy alongside tools it offers to researchers.     

Maps,Numbers, Text,and Context: Mixing Methods in Feminist Political Ecology*

Feminist post-structuralist theory, feminist empiricism, and field practice can all contribute to insights on the value of quantitative and qualitative methods in feminist geographical research. A political ecology study of gendered interests in a social forestry program in the Dominican Republic illustrates the methodological dilemmas and potentials of feminist research on environmental change. The study combined qualitative and quantitative data collection and analytical techniques. Examples from the case study address three methodological questions in feminist geography: (1) Should identity or affinity be the basis for situating ourselves and the subjects of our research? (2) How can we reconcile multiple subjectivities and quantitative methods in the quest for objectivity? and (3) Can we combine traditional positivist methods with participatory mapping and oral histories? The paper draws on theoretical literature as well as field experience to answer these questions.     

Introduction to Focus Section: Feminist Research and Knowledge Production in Geography

Over the past two decades, feminist geographers have contributed in critical ways to thinking on the conduct, complications, and consequences of feminist research. The robust existing body of work is testament to the foundational import of these contributions, but the articles in this Focus Section suggest that there are still important things to argue, talk about, and reflect on with regard to the epistemological aspects of doing feminist geography. These six articles bring together real-life examples of complex issues that feminist researchers in geography face today, with the overarching aim of sparking discussions about the relationship between feminist research and knowledge production. Specifically, the articles expand key concepts facilitating reflexive processes and offer new tools for feminist researchers. This Introduction reviews the existing literature pertaining to both of these goals, and summarizes and situates the articles that follow.     

The Politics of Location: Doing Feminist Research at “Home”*

Feminist research methodologies have many advantages over more traditional positivist methodologies. Feminist research is differentiated from nonfeminist research in terms of its critiques of universality and objectivity and its emancipatory purpose. Drawing on my own research on the survival strategies of low-waged women workers in Worcester, Massachusetts, I argue that we need to examine more critically our feminist research methods in terms of the unequal power relationships on which the research process necessarily rests.     

Painting Pictures of Ourselves: Researcher Subjectivity in the Practice of Feminist Reflexivity

In this article, I argue that researchers need to carefully distinguish the concepts of subjectivity and positionality in feminist reflexive practice, as an explicit focus on researcher subjectivity has the potential to provide additional insights into the research process that go beyond a focus on relational positionality. Drawing on examples from my own research, I argue that examining one's subjectivity as a researcher opens up a consideration of emotional reactions to research; lets us reconsider the importance of feelings of (dis)affiliation and (dis)comfort in the research process; and helps us to recognize that the dreams and desires of researchers about themselves and their research participants can play an important role in the research process. Moreover, researcher subjectivity attunes us to ways in which our subjectivities shift through the research process and are intimately connected to and mediated by the process of research and our interactions with our research participants.     

The Feminist Geographer as Killjoy: Excavating Gendered Urban Power Relations

In this article, I place Ahmed's notion of the feminist killjoy into conversation with feminist geography literature to explore possibilities and praxis in research endeavoring to illuminate uneven power relations and the moral orders that frame them. According to Ahmed, a feminist killjoy is one who exposes sexism, heterosexism, and racism, only to be criticized for disrupting happiness and social consent. Drawing on fieldwork on urban politics and development, I explore the implications—both promise and peril—of adopting feminist killjoy research subjectivities, emphasizing the important role of affect. I suggest that when feminist researchers direct killjoy research not just at mainstream institutions but also at progressive endeavors, they risk being construed as double killjoys who disrupt supposed joy and solidarity within progressive politics.     

The Politics of Difference: Examining the Quantitative/Qualitative Dualism in Post-Structuralist Feminist Research*

The potential for using quantitative techniques in feminist post-structuralist research has been obscured by the pervasiveness of the quantitative/qualitative dualism within the discipline. In this paper I discuss the possibility that quantitative approaches may be uncoupled from masculinist versions of science in ways that are consistent with the goals of feminist post-structuralist research. To illustrate these ideas, I explore the politics of counting—both the political power of statistical representations of oppression and also the role of counting in revealing the operation of power relations. My examinations of the persistence of the quantitative/qualitative dualism—despite the potential power of quantitative approaches in feminist work—raise questions about how our academic biographies reinforce these ontological divisions. Specifically, I raise questions about the influence of our academic socialization on our engagement with the particular ontologies we employ and (perhaps) reject.     

Collaborating in the field, working for change: Reflecting on partnerships between academics, development organizations and rural communities in Africa

Academics and development organizations approach fieldwork with somewhat different motivations, constraints and challenges. In many instances, fieldwork might be improved if greater collaboration occurred between these two parties. Rural communities are also important yet frequently taken for granted partners in the research process that deserve greater respect. This paper explores and describes the real and imagined impediments to greater collaboration between academics, development organizations and rural communities. The findings are based on 18 years of working with rural communities in Africa, both as a development practitioner and academic researcher. This reflection makes three contributions to the broader literature on fieldwork. First, it explicitly links two ongoing discussions, one on relationships with institutional partners, the other on interactions with rural communities. Second, it articulates the concerns of development organizations in their partnerships with academic researchers, a perspective rarely heard in a literature dominated by academic voices. Third, while feminist scholarship on fieldwork methods often wrestles with issues of positionality and engagement at the scale of the individual researcher, this reflection is aimed at the broader scale of the professional (academic and practitioner) communities involved in development praxis and scholarship.     

Qualitative Methods for Research on Mapmaking and Map Use

Contemporary cartographic research on mapmaking and map use has a broad mandate and, as a consequence, researchers need a broad suite of methods. Consistent with research developments in other geographic subdisciplines, cartographic researchers now use qualitative methods. They offer the advantage of bringing research closer to the problem‐solving realms of mapmakers and map users. Our purpose here is to discuss an array of qualitative methods for mapmaking and map use. Questionnaires, interviews, and protocol methods are used to gather verbal data about mapmaking and map use. Ethnographies produce data from direct observation of mapmakers and users. Maps also are sources for document analysis. We use examples of published cartographic research to elaborate on each of these methods.     

Walking as Method: Toward Methodological Forthrightness and Comparability in Urban Geographical Research

Qualitative urban geographical research should explicitly acknowledge insights gained from walking (the iterative exploration and observation of cities on foot), which enhances local literacy and enables researchers to compare methods more explicitly. Some urban geographers might use walking as a method, but it is rarely reported in published scholarship. This article argues for the explicit inclusion of walking in methodological reporting for urban research. We suggest that reporting the walking that researchers do adds rigor to research findings and should be distinguished from research where this practice is absent, we report on international experiences using walking in combination with other methods, and we conclude with a proposal for comparable urban geographic walking practices.     

Negotiating Knowledge Production: The Everyday Inclusions,Exclusions, and Contradictions of Participatory GIS Research*

Although participatory approaches to geographic information system (GIS) use have significantly altered the technological and social practices of GIS‐based research and decision making, they have received relatively little attention within discussions of participatory research. This paper examines how participation and representation are negotiated in participatory GIS research through everyday practices of knowledge production. Inclusion and exclusion in the production of knowledge in participatory GIS are mediated within several intersecting arenas of research practice simultaneously, often with contradictory implications, priorities, and outputs.     

Interviews and Questionnaires as Mixed Methods in Population Geography: TheCase of Lone Fathers in Newcastle,Australia

A mixed method approach was adopted to study the experiences of lonefathers, using a classic triangulation approach of interview and questionnaire data. This study utilised an empirical realist framework of scientific enquiry, with the ‘soft’ individual interview data seen as an adjunct to the ‘hard’ aggregate quantitative methods. A review of this study found that the interviews worked well as a pilot study in a classic mixed methods framework. The questionnaires provided a range of information about thecharacteristics of this group of lone fathers, but it was the interviews which provided astonishing depth on the causes of marital breakdown and post-marital conflict, and on the discourses and other structures which sustain social processes. In this study, the interview techniques could have been used differently, in a different framework of analysis (that of critical rather than empirical realism) without the support of other mixed methods.     

Interviews and Questionnaires as Mixed Methods in Population Geography: TheCase of Lone Fathers in Newcastle,Australia

A mixed method approach was adopted to study the experiences of lonefathers, using a classic triangulation approach of interview and questionnaire data. This study utilised an empirical realist framework of scientific enquiry, with the ‘soft’ individual interview data seen as an adjunct to the ‘hard’ aggregate quantitative methods. A review of this study found that the interviews worked well as a pilot study in a classic mixed methods framework. The questionnaires provided a range of information about thecharacteristics of this group of lone fathers, but it was the interviews which provided astonishing depth on the causes of marital breakdown and post-marital conflict, and on the discourses and other structures which sustain social processes. In this study, the interview techniques could have been used differently, in a different framework of analysis (that of critical rather than empirical realism) without the support of other mixed methods.     

Embeddedness in Practice,Numbers in Context: The Politics of Knowing and Doing*

In this paper, I argue that feminist geographers need to scrutinize the claims being made by the three identifiable epistemological orientations in feminist geography regarding the use of numbers, for each offers a different view of objectivity and a different way to count. I go on to pursue a refinement of a critical feminist epistemology grounded in a mediated objectivity, one located in the embeddedness of everyday life. Within this framework, I suggest that numbers are useful, but only in context.     

Dialogue, metaphors of dialogue and understandings of geography

Increasingly, human and physical geographers alike describe their research practices as involving dialogue of some kind. However, the widespread popularity of the term belies some very different understandings of its meaning and methodological implications. In this paper we reflect on these different conceptions of 'dialogical' geography as a way, first, of illustrating the broad range of understandings of research methodology now current in the discipline and, second, of identifying their implications for three long–standing controversies in the discipline: relativism and the truth of geographical knowledge, the associated dualisms between subject/object, nature/society, and realism/constructionism, and the potential for unity between human and physical geography. We argue that, while dialogue is a potentially fruitful way of understanding and practising geography, that the defence of it, like the attacks on it, is often misconceived.     

Quantitative Research Performing other Worlds: lessons from sustainable agriculture in the Philippines

For those interested in ethical research, quantitative methods are often dismissed as apolitical; as unreflective exercises in ‘mere counting’. If, however, in doing research, we bring into being the very worlds we purport to describe, the question begs: what kinds of worlds might quantitative methods bring into being? Is there space for a reflexive, quantitative research agenda? In this paper, I will discuss an action-based predominantly quantitative research project that aimed to investigate the diverse impacts of sustainable agriculture on small-scale farmers in the Philippines. The study, one of the largest ever undertaken on organic rice production, was consciously designed, not merely to describe, but to perform organic agriculture differently. While most quantitative, and indeed much qualitative, research ignores its performativity, this research was intended to enact a reality of sustainable agriculture as a viable and vital alternative to mainstream, capitalist agriculture.     

景观经济学:内涵、基本问题和研究方法

对自然和人文景观资源消费与创造行为作为经济学分支或研究方向的必要性及其规律进行探索性、综述性分析,在文献梳理基础上提出景观经济学的内涵、基本问题和研究方法等基本结构框架。景观经济学是研究公众对自然及人文景观偏好形成及演化规律、景观资源消费与创造行为经济规律的社会科学,其基本问题包括景观资源价值评估、景观资源最优利用、景观资源开发与保护政策以及多元景观结构的形成与创造等,其研究方法包括消费者意愿调查法、实验与行为经济学方法、逻辑推理法和个案分析法等。     

Advances in Root System Architecture: Functionality,Plasticity, and Research Methods

Root system architecture (RSA) refers to the spatial distribution and extended morphology of plant root systems in soil. RSA not only determines the ability of plants to obtain water and nutrients but also affects other ecological functions. Hence, it plays a dominant role in the overall health of plants. The study of RSA can provide insight into plant absorption of water and fertilizers, the relationship between above- and belowground plant parts, and the physiological health and ecological functions of plants. Therefore, this paper summarizes research on the morphology, functionality, plasticity and research methods of RSA. We first review the basic structure, physiology, and ecological functions of root systems. Then the soil factors that shape RSA—including soil moisture, nutrients, temperature, aeration, and others—are summarized. After that, research methods for studying RSA are described in detail, including harvesting, two-dimensional morphological observation, and three-dimensional image reconstruction. Finally, future research developments and innovations are discussed to provide a theoretical basis for further investigations in this field.     

Evaluating the Process and Outcomes of Collaborative Conservation: Tools,Techniques, and Strategies

Abstract

Collaborative conservation has been touted as a viable option for addressing contentious natural resource stewardship issues in a way that represents the diverse voices impacted by, and involved in, conservation decisions. Engaging meaningfully in collaborative conservation involves overcoming a unique set of challenges while also realizing opportunities. In this special issue, we use the term collaborative conservation evaluation to encompass research and evaluation related to collaborative governance and collaborative natural resource management projects, programs, or decision-making processes that leverage a participatory approach, involve multiple stakeholders, and incorporate a range of contemporary evaluation approaches. Here, we provide a series of articles and tools intended to highlight different approaches to evaluation that utilize a variety of methodologies adapted for different contexts. We intend for these articles to spark further conversation and inspire future directions in evaluating collaborative conservation for researchers and practitioners.     

Choosing the Right Battles: how independent bookshops in Sydney,Australia compete with chains and online retailers

The emergence of multinational retailers has induced shifts in the spatial distribution of retail capital. Furthermore, the advent of shopping centres has led to a reconfiguration of consumption spaces. These trends have particular consequences for independent retail businesses. This paper investigates the impacts of rationalisation and consolidation in retailing on independent bookshops in Sydney. There is a view that independent bookshops are in decline, and this is particularly true when you look at the independent bookshops in the UK and the USA. However, this research reveals that the perception of the demise of the independent bookshop in Australia is exaggerated. Despite the challenges they face, there are counterbalances to the trends of shopping centres, chain shops and online retailing that have carved a niche for the independent bookshop. Independent bookshops differentiate themselves from chains by designing unique shops, carrying a wide range of inventory, and providing personalised customer service. In this way, they have successfully distinguished themselves from other types of booksellers and maintained a stable position in Australian book retailing.