Call for papers - researching crisis temporalities through longitudinal methodologies
Leaving a garment factory in Cambodia during the COVID-19 pandemic © Thomas Cristofoletti
A proposed Special Section in Area
Guest editors
Katherine Brickell, Department of Geography, Royal Holloway, University of London, UK
Netra Eng, Cambodia Development Resource Institute, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Sabina Lawreniuk, School of Geography, University of Nottingham, UK
Introduction
The benefits of longitudinal research are well established in the fostering of long-term relationships, and commitments to particular groups of people or issues (McDowell 2001; Valentine 2005). As Clare Madge and co-authors (1997) note, longitudinal studies are valuable ‘because the research is not fixed in time but reflects the dynamism of people’s experiences, so enabling temporal differences’ to be comprehended. In other words, longitudinal methods allow research to transcend the singular event or time, to tell a fuller and more cumulative story of people’s lives that might otherwise be possible.
The proposed Special Section in Area looks to connect research using longitudinal methodologies, both qualitative and quantitative, with interdisciplinary research on what have come to be known as ‘crisis temporalities’, those that are (both) ‘fast’ sensational and spectacular, and those which are ‘slow’ and woven into the deteriorations and ongoingness of ordinary life. This special issue will include papers which consider the opportunities and challenges of longitudinal research in diverse situations and temporalities of crisis. We are looking to a whole host of crises experienced - and possibly interconnected - from the COVID-19 pandemic, austerity, housing and homelessness, and domestic violence, to climate emergency (and others beyond this).
The Special Section will take forward calls for longitudinal research and writing to consider the ‘temporal affordances’ of the method (see, for example Thomson and McLeod 2015).
Our inspiration for the Special Section
The inspiration for this Special Section arises from an 18-month study responding to Covid-19, and funded by the UK’s Global Challenges Research Fund. Our project, ReFashion, is leading original longitudinal research, using repeat quantitative surveys and in-depth interviews, to track and amplify the experiences of over 200 women garment workers in Cambodia through the pandemic. We are documenting and learning from their efforts to navigate the financial repercussions of COVID-19 on their home lives and livelihoods across different phases of the pandemic. The study is generating new knowledge and insights into how social protection can be mobilised to ‘build back better’ though longitudinal rather than ‘snapshot’ research. While in ‘times of crisis’ there is often the demand for rapid appraisal research, our paper in the special issue will look (somewhat conversely) to the importance of mixed-method longitudinal data collection for policy decision-making and design during the COVID-19 pandemic, and will be written (like others in the SI) for the IJSRM’s mixed audience of academic and non-academic researchers.
The call for papers
Our call for papers encourages researchers who work on ‘crisis’ in whatever guise using longitudinal fieldwork methodologies to submit their expression of interest to be part of the Special Section. We have four strong papers so far and are looking for an additional 1-3 to join.
We encourage expressions of interest from researchers using both quantitative and qualitative or mixed methodologies in longitudinal studies. We aim for contributions from a diverse group of geographically distributed scholars, working on distinct projects and addressing different issues arising in crisis situations, variously defined and experienced. The paper should explore the temporal dimensions, affordances and/or challenges of longitudinal research design, practice and/or outcomes for addressing social justice-oriented concerns.
Authors should be able to meet the provisional deadline for draft paper submission for internal editorial review (January 31st 2022) and submission to the journal in March 2022. Papers are a maximum of 5,000 words long (see Area website here for more information).
Please submit your proposed title, abstract (max 300 words), and authorship details by September 30th 2021 here.