Abstract:
There is increasing attention been placed on qualitative
methodology in collecting social data, it greatly contributes to
collect more realistic and insightful information, ethnographic
data etc. This had been realized by anthropologists but is now
increasingly been realized by geographers as well. Such
methodologies are important not only for their own sake but
also to supplement quantitative data. This study has presently
been initiated on the process of internal displacement in Sri
Lanka- is a multidimensional process, which covers various
social and spatial movements, delimited by single or multiple,
day and night or other secular displacements. Therefore, the
emphasis on qualitative research in the study. Though
different qualitative methods are readily available to social
scientists, it is found difficult and problematic to use such
methods without subjecting them to a scanning process.
Hence the need to pay special attention to methodological
issues. In this paper, qualitative methods used by social
scientists such as formal and informal discussions, in-depth
interviews, structured or semi structured interviews,
collective reflections, observations, innovation assessments,
case studies and life histories etc. are first identified. This is
followed by focusing on methods relevant to the study of
internal displacement of people in Sri Lanka. The
methodological issues confronted in this qualitative research
such as the problems of representativeness, ethical
considerations, verification of events and information relating
to informants, validity and reliability, organization of the
research (access, timing and neutrality) and objectivity of the
researcher, are highlighted and discussed.
