In this project, we investigate research community practices in studying corruption and anti-corruption. The aim of the project is to examine conceptual and methodological challenges that researchers face and choices they make to overcome these challenges.
Abstract
Corruption is a persistent societal problem with detrimental implications for democracy, welfare and development in every society worldwide, even if its scale and forms differ. In the new social context of globalized and highly digitized societies, novel forms of corruption emerge, alongside with the old ones. As a result, corruption became a prominent issue on the agendas of many national authorities, international organizations, NGOs and private companies, requesting evidence-based approach to develop tangible anti-corruption policies. While corruption research is fairly established in several academic disciplines, corruption researchers from all fields face the same challenge – how to operationalize and measure corruption that is secretive in its nature. However, with little communication between the academic disciplines, corruption research remains fragmented and diffuse in multiple theoretical and methodological approaches. Our interdisciplinary project aims to address this problem and contribute to the institutionalization of corruption research. In this project, we connect theoretical and methodological approaches in researching corruption, established in separate academic fields.
This study aims to increase awareness about the unique challenges faced by corruption and anti-corruption researchers. By sensitizing the broader research community to these issues, we hope to foster a deeper understanding of the complexities inherent in this field. At the same time, we seek to equip both current and prospective corruption researchers with the knowledge needed to anticipate and address these challenges before embarking on their studies. Addressing these difficulties is crucial for enhancing the overall quality of research on corruption, particularly given the elusive and difficult-to-measure nature of the subject.
To explore these issues, we conducted a unique expert survey between January and March 2023, following a pilot phase in October-November 2022. Our survey targeted researchers working in academia, policy, and investigative journalism who conduct empirical studies on corruption and anti-corruption. We specifically asked participants about the challenges they experienced during data collection and the analysis of secondary data within this research domain.
The project is conducted in close collaboration with the Interdisciplinary Corruption Research Network (ICRNetwork.org), where project team members are also serving at ICRN current board members.
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Project effects and updates:
The main effects of the activities within the project, in line with the assumed tasks and goals, are:
- We conducted a survey (January-March 2023) among scientists, public policy sector employees and investigative journalists dealing with empirical research on corruption. The pilot study took place in October-November 2022. The survey was completed by 449 experts, and 126 of them signed up for in-depth interviews.
- We organized and participated in a number of international conferences and expert panels such as our regular participation in the organisation and methodological workshops as part of the ICRN Forum (2024 Lisbon, 2023 Barcelona, 2022 Bologna and 2021 online); organisation of the panel and presentations at the ECPR General Conference (2023 Prague, 2020 online) and numerous presentations at the Paris IAS seminar.
- We have been working on communication channels between corruption researchers. We also introduced a permanent workshop element at the ICRN Forum on the methodology of research on corruption for young researchers.
In the implementation of the project, we place particular emphasis on the issues of ethics and security in working with sensitive data sets. The implementation of the project contributes to the development of new methodological standards, promotion of innovative educational tools and integration of the international research community.