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Their Reign, Their Game? Accessing the Powerful

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Interviewing Elites, Experts and the Powerful in Criminology

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Abstract

The chapter delves into practical issues of respondent selection, and of finding and accessing expert and elite participants for research interviews. It discusses powerful participants’ specificities and offers solutions for improving the chances of generating samples of respondents and collecting high-quality data. After addressing sampling techniques, it discusses (gaining and maintaining) access, including formal permissions and informal ways of contacting people; the role of gatekeepers; making your way through formal and informal hierarchies; ways of communicating with elites and experts, managing limited time frames, as well as presenting yourself and the research. Furthermore, the chapter discusses ethics and discretion while getting and maintaining access, especially informed consent, anonymity, recording the interview, transparency regarding the researcher’s role and goals.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Criminology, Criminal Law and Social Law, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium

    Olga Petintseva

  2. Faculty of Law, School of Criminology, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal

    Rita Faria

  3. Department of Political Science and Public Administration, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, North Holland, The Netherlands

    Yarin Eski

Authors
  1. Olga Petintseva
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  2. Rita Faria
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  3. Yarin Eski
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Correspondence to Olga Petintseva .

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Petintseva, O., Faria, R., Eski, Y. (2020). Their Reign, Their Game? Accessing the Powerful. In: Interviewing Elites, Experts and the Powerful in Criminology. Palgrave Pivot, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-33000-2_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-33000-2_4

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Pivot, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-32999-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-33000-2

  • eBook Packages: Law and CriminologyLaw and Criminology (R0)

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