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Women researchers face significant challenges in man-dominated and less inclusive societies during field studies, such as neglect, limited accessibility, restricted freedom of speech, and commuting security threats. However, their strengths in communication, empathy, and caring are often undervalued. These experiences in field studies deserve presentation and discussion.

This research method seminar aims to establish a platform for women scholars to express their voices and research experiences on security, development, and leadership issues in the Global South. This seminar will discuss about the operational techniques of conducting field work and explore the research ethics, methodologies in the high-risk and cross-cultural environment as well as gender issues in the fieldwork.

This seminar will start with a keynote speech led by Dr Weiwei Chen who will share her fieldwork experience in China-Africa research, followed by a round table discussion with Dr Charlotte Goodburn, Dr Gloriana Rodriguez Alvarez, Dr Soumya Mishra, MS Sonia Warner, extending the conversations to Global South. After the seminar, a reception will be provided for students and researchers to chat, network and build research community.

Programme

14:00-14:30 Arrival and Registration

14:30-14:45 Openning remark: Prof Eka Ikpe

14:45-15:30 Keynote Presentation and Q&A Dr Weiwei Chen

15:30-16:30 Round table discussions:

• Dr Charlotte Goodburn
• Dr Soumya Mishra
• Dr Gloriana Rodriguez Alvarez
• MS Sonia Warner
• Dr Weiwei Chen

16:30-17:00 Q&A

17:00-18:00 Wrap-up, Reception and Network session

Openning Speaker:

Prof Eka Ikpe: Professor of Development Economics and Interdisciplinary Peace

Research, Director of Africa Leadership Centre, King’s College London.

Speakers:

Dr Weiwei Chen is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Open University, leading UK-based research for the ERC-funded REDEFINE project on Chinese infrastructure investment in Europe.

Her research focuses on China's globalization into both the Global South and the Global North, aiming to unpack the complexities of Chinese capital through extensive field-based research. Weiwei obtained her PhD in Development Studies from SOAS, University of London, and previously contributed to two ESRC-funded projects exploring employment dynamics among Chinese firms in Ethiopia and Angola. Beyond academic publications, she has provided commentary for outlets suchas The Conversation Africa and People's Daily. Her forthcoming monograph, Chinese Manufacturing Firms in Ethiopia: Firm Diversity and the Political Economy of Investment, will be published by Palgrave Macmillan as part of the Palgrave Studies in African and Development Economics series.

Discussants:

Dr Charlotte Goodburn: Reader in Chinese Politics and Development, Deputy Director, Lau China Institute, King’s College London. She is interested in the political economy of a wide range of developing countries and in issues in politics, migration and development more generally. In her current work, she compares rural-urban migration and urbanisation in China and in India.

Dr Soumya Mishra: Leverhulme Early Career Fellow. Her research explores rural-urban migration, structural transformation and industrial development in India, with a particular focus on China-associated manufacturing moving to India. More recently, she investigates socio-economic outcomes of Special Economic Zones in India and sub-Saharan Africa. She has extensive field work experience in India with additional experience in Uganda and Nigeria.Dr Gloriana Rodriguez Alvarez: Lecturer in Leadership, Development, Peace and Security Education, Africa Leadership Centre, King’s College London. Gloriana has extensive fieldwork experience across Central and South America, leading interdisciplinary investigations on drug policy, gender justice, and human rights, including with incarcerated women and gender-diverse individuals, as well as ancestral rights and women’s rights in Bolivia.

Ms Sonia Warner: PhD Candidate at the Africa Leadership Centre, King’s College London, researching Leadership and Policing in Nigeria. Her fieldwork explored various responses to dysfunctional policing in the Southwest region of Nigeria through social movements, civil society and community-based policing arrangements. She is a former UK civil servant with a career spanning 37 years. She has occupied a range of leadership and technical roles in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Oeice (FCDO), gaining extensive experience in policy and programme implementation in a range of developing and conflict-prone countries, including South Sudan, Sudan, Sierra Leone and Nigeria. She is currently consulting in the UK’s care sector. As a strong advocate for social and racial justice, she is also pursuing various literary projects.

Moderator:

MS Xueke Chen: PhD candidate at the Africa Leadership Centre, King’s College London, conducting fieldwork in Ethiopia and Angola.