Mastering data management in conflict studies
What does Research Data Management mean in everyday practice? In a series of interviews by RDM Support, researchers share their experiences on various aspects of research data management. In this interview, dr. Mario Fumerton shares his experiences with a tailored workshop RDM Support created for his master students.
As an assistant professor at the Centre for Conflict Studies at Utrecht, Mario Fumerton regularly visits the zones of conflict he teaches his students about. He has conducted fieldwork research in Peru, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, and Iraqi-Kurdistan. “Students really respect teachers who have actually collected their data on the front line”, Mario has experienced.
Documenting conflict
In the master’s programme ‘Conflict Studies and Human Rights’ Mario teaches his students to prepare for social science research. “In qualitative research you’d better back your claims up with different kinds of data”, Mario says. In one of his research projects he investigated the mobilisation of insurgent movements in Peru’s civil war. The assistant professor lived in the rural district of Tambo, Peru, for nearly ten months. There, he combined data from in-depth open-ended interviews with militia officials, participant observation during militia and community activities, and evidence from a variety of document sources including a militia commander’s personal diary. “You can try to understand a situation by listening to what people are telling you, but a document lends a new interpretation to the dynamics of the current situation”, Mario explains the importance of contextualising data.
It’s quite surprising how many students don’t manage their data
Mastering research data management
Mario has been teaching in master programs for 15 years now. This year, he approached Utrecht University Library to help him teach students to find and use resources. Iris van der Knaap, subject librarian for humanities, offered to additionally design a guest lecture about research data management for his students together with her colleagues from RDM Support. “I turned to the library and I got more than I expected”, Mario exclaims. And the offer fit perfectly: “It’s quite surprising how many students don’t manage their data. They are not always collecting or generating data in an organised way and lose data over time. They are sort of lost in what to do with their data after they’ve collected it”.
The library and RDM Support are an untapped goldmine
Building relations
The guest lecture of two hours was well received. “The students were given an overview of the key concepts of research data management and the related services available at Utrecht University” Mario says. He was touched that Iris and her RDM Support colleague Felix Weijdema put together a two-hour workshop tailored to his master students: “They read through the methodology sections of conflict studies theses from the past and looked for important aspects concerning research data management. They needn’t have done that, but they did”.
The RDM story continues. Mario, Iris and RDM Support are now connecting to other experts about designing a more hands-on workshop to teach his students how to process data with NVivo, a qualitative data analysis program.
Mario hopes that other lecturers will also find their way to the library and RDM Support to benefit from synergy such as he has experienced. “All you can do is present these stories, show what’s possible, raise awareness. For those who are willing to dig into it, RDM Support and the library are an untapped goldmine”, Mario concludes.
More information
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