Security means something different to each of us, so why shouldn’t we all research it? A new guide from Rethinking Security and Coventry University explains how anyone can design and implement their own citizen social science project to research security in their own context. Zsófia Hacsek explains why and how.
We all live under circumstances unique to us. Therefore, we all have different experiences of what feels secure or insecure. The understanding of security varies from person to person, from place to place, from community to community, from generation to generation.
Because of this, research on security in (and beyond) the United Kingdom has to be an ongoing process. No information will ever be enough; there will always be new aspects to consider and new people to involve in the conversation. This is especially the case in times of political change; new governments, local policy-makers, new economic and communal situations can all trigger changes in people’s perception of security.
There are many ways to engage citizens in feeding their views into enduring security discussions: public opinion polls, calls for evidence, or investigative projects run by professional researchers, to name just a few. We have seen examples for all of these over the last couple of years. Lillah Fearnley collected and analysed many different examples of opinion polls trying to measure security for Rethinking Security; the government’s Integrated Review 2021 (but not its Refresh in 2023) included a public call for evidence; and we, researchers at Coventry University, worked with Rethinking Security on a mixed-methods research project called the Alternative Security Review.
What all these attempts to gauge security perceptions have in common is that, regardless of how inclusive and well-designed they aim to be, their timeframes and resources are always limited. And that also limits their possibilities in various ways: they might not be able to reach out to a diverse cohort of individuals, or even if they are, they might not be able to follow changes of their circumstances and hence their perceptions longitudinally.
There is also a lot of information, based on local knowledge and personal connections, that members of local communities have much better access to than any outsider. Due to their reliable and functioning networks, trusting relationships and insider knowledge, they may be able to collect information with less effort, distortion or ethical concerns.
Why Citizen Social Science for security?
Citizen Social Science has been developed to provide a framework for exactly this purpose. It is designed for people who are not researchers by profession, but who are still interested in researching issues faced by their local communities. But ‘doing their research’ means much more in this sense than browsing through websites and finding information put together by other people.
Indeed, it is the same structured and systematic data collection and analysis that professional researchers apply in their larger-scale works. Everyday citizens can also learn how and why this functions, and how research methods can be implemented in settings like their everyday life and community. In other words: they can learn to do social science. Hence the name: Citizen Social Science.
A project which is backed up by transparent and reliable Citizen Social Science data can make a strong case in debates around local, regional, or even national issues. But in order to do this right, to fully understand the opportunities, functionalities, difficulties, and even possible dangers of social science research, citizen researchers need training and support.
This motivated us, researchers of the Alternative Security Review project, to develop a Citizen Social Science workbook. Following our guidelines, grassroots research projects can be developed: from initial ideas, through the collection, management, and analysis of research data, to the presentation of the results in various contexts.
Who can do it?
The short answer: anyone. No matter your gender, age, profession, educational level, or family status. All you need is to be interested in issues around (in)security in your community, and a desire to learn about the philosophy behind and the practicalities around social science research.
Memories of an undergraduate level at college or university can be an advantage, but not necessary: the workbook itself explains the basics, so no previous knowledge is required. It might also be helpful if you have a small budget to invest in your research, but this is also not a requirement: the workbook provides you with ideas how you can do it completely free.
In the workbook, we provide an idealised example of two Citizen Social Science researchers who want to investigate security issues around the healthcare system in their small city of 15,000 inhabitants. Bella uses a qualitative research method (interviewing) in the care home she works, and Cecily uses a quantitative research method (survey) to investigate attitudes towards the NHS among the inhabitants of their city. Working closely together, they are co-conducting mixed-methods research.
But the healthcare system is only one possibility among many. Do you work in a school? You can make a similar research project about security issues related to the educational system. Are you afraid walking home in the dark? You can investigate how many of your townspeople feel the same and why. Have you noticed food items disappearing from local stores or suddenly being unaffordably expensive? You can do research on how this situation influences perceptions of security in your community. Are you a mum or dad at home with your children? You can involve other parents in your project, asking what makes them feel (in)secure. The possibilities are endless.
How does it work?
The workbook is divided into two sections. Part I is Research Design, explaining the theoretical basis. Its first chapter explains what ‘science’, ‘social science’, and ‘research’ mean, and what has to be considered first when one decides to conduct research, also in terms of worldviews and positionalities.
The second chapter explains the main categories of methods in social science, qualitative and quantitative: what they are useful for and where their limitations are.
The third chapter gives specific examples for qualitative and quantitative methods.
Part I then ends with an important component of designing a research project: ethical considerations, their importance, how they can be implemented, and the dangers of not applying them properly.
Part II is the practical part. After readers of the workbook learned the theory of social science research, now they can design their own project in practice. Chapter 1 supports them in identifying what exactly they want to research, where, when, and how.
Chapter 2 is about designing the proper research tools according to the chosen method.
Chapter 3 gives useful information on the recruitment of participants and how to communicate the research aims transparently.
Chapter 4 explains how data should be collected, stored, managed, and analysed.
Finally, Chapters 5 and 6 provide ideas for outreach or dissemination of research findings, in the form of written representation (reports, briefings), visualisations (posters) and public presentations (seminars, webinars, conferences).
We hope that our tool will prove to be useful for future Citizen Social Scientists in gathering real-life information and using it to influence theoretical directions, and possibly even practical decisions, within the ongoing discourse of security.
Read the full how-to guide: Researching Security that Matters to You: A Guide to Citizen Social Science by Zsófia Hacsek, Anna Gillions, David Curran and Sariya Cheruvallil-Contractor.
The views and opinions expressed in posts on the Rethinking Security blog are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position of the network and its broader membership.
Image Credit: Leonie Mills-Woanya, Rethinking Security.
