Methodological Quandaries in Joint Israeli-Palestinian Peace Research

This article explores methodological issues central to the undertaking of joint Palestinian-Israeli research, work that is impacted by the violent conflict between the two peoples. Four issues are discussed: (a) collaborating under conflict, that is, how the conflict impacts relations between the researchers on either side of the border, (b) issues of power and equality, as they impact the research process, (c) relationships with participants, that is, how the conflict influences relations between the researcher and the research participants, and (d) rethinking standards, that is, whether the normative standards of research quality are relevant for Palestinian-Israeli collaborative research. The article presents examples from joint research and offers preliminary ideas for dealing with these methodological issues.