Methodological Triangulation in the Analysis of Terrorist Networks

Horne, Cale; Horgan, John

doi:10.1080/1057610x.2012.639064

Cited by 9 publications

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“…Given renewed emphasis in the terrorism studies community on the value of integrating computational and qualitative methods even within limited (small-n) data, 32 at the very least, we would expect autobiographical accounts of terrorists and former terrorists to offer one kind of data point against which other data may be triangulated. In particular, the availability of first-hand interviews with former terrorists appears to be on the increase.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

In Their Own Words? Methodological Considerations in the Analysis of Terrorist Autobiographies

Altier¹,

Horgan²,

Thoroughgood³

2012

JSS

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Despite the growth of terrorism literature in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, there remain several methodological challenges to studying certain aspects of terrorism. This is perhaps most evident in attempts to uncover the attitudes, motivations, and intentions of individuals engaged in violent extremism and how they are sometimes expressed in problematic behavior. Such challenges invariably stem from the fact that terrorists and the organizations to which they belong represent clandestine populations engaged in illegal activity. Unsurprisingly, these qualities make it difficult for the researcher to identify and locate willing subjects of study-let alone a representative sample. In this research note, we suggest the systematic analysis of terrorist autobiographies offers a promising means of investigating difficult-to-study areas of terrorism-related phenomena. Investigation of autobiographical accounts not only offers additional data points for the study of individual psychological issues, but also provides valuable perspectives on the internal structures, processes, and dynamics of terrorist organizations more broadly. Moreover, given most autobiographies cover critical events and personal experiences across the life course, they provide a unique lens into how terrorists perceive their world and insight into their decision-making processes. We support our advocacy of this approach by highlighting its methodological strengths and shortcomings.This article is available in Journal of Strategic Security: http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/jss/ vol5/iss4/11 AbstractDespite the growth of terrorism literature in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, there remain several methodological challenges to studying certain aspects of terrorism. This is perhaps most evident in attempts to uncover the attitudes, motivations, and intentions of individuals engaged in violent extremism and how they are sometimes expressed in problematic behavior. Such challenges invariably stem from the fact that terrorists and the organizations to which they belong represent clandestine populations engaged in illegal activity. Unsurprisingly, these qualities make it difficult for the researcher to identify and locate willing subjects of study-let alone a representative sample. In this research note, we suggest the systematic analysis of terrorist autobiographies offers a promising means of investigating difficult-to-study areas of terrorism-related phenomena. Investigation of autobiographical accounts not only offers additional data points for the study of individual psychological issues, but also provides valuable perspectives on the internal structures, processes, and dynamics of terrorist organizations more broadly. Moreover, given most autobiographies cover critical events and personal experiences across the life course, they provide a unique lens into how terrorists perceive their world and insight into their decision-making processes. We support our advocacy of this approach by highlighting its methodological strengths and shortcomings.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

In Their Own Words? Methodological Considerations in the Analysis of Terrorist Autobiographies

Altier¹,

Horgan²,

Thoroughgood³

2012

JSS

Self Cite

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“…Besides source-criticism, data triangulation can be a powerful tool for overcoming the potential biases and inaccuracies found in individual sources (Horne & Horgan, 2012). Here, the researcher tries to verify information found in one particular source by assessing whether other types of data support or problematize it.…”

Section: Potential Primary Sources On Terrorism and Their Usementioning

confidence: 99%

Conducting Qualitative Research on Terrorism: Finding and Using Primary Sources

Schuurman¹

2019

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Emerging Trends in Social Network Analysis of Terrorism and Counterterrorism

Knoke

2015

Emerging Trends in the Social and Behavioral Sciences

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A key issue in tracking transnational terror trends is the utility of social network analysis, both as a theoretical perspective and as a methodological toolkit, for understanding and assessing terror organizations, and for developing counterterror policies and practices to detect and disrupt terror attacks. Foundational efforts were case studies of particular groups or operations, culling data from newspaper reports and court trial documents, then creating matrix files for analysis with social network computer programs. Mathematicians, game theorists, and computer scientists are dramatically expanding research beyond foundational case studies of terrorist networks. Much of their work centers on devising strategies for counterterror organizations to destabilize clandestine organizations. They develop elegant and precise mathematical models and computer algorithms, then systematically change parameters to assess capabilities of detecting and disrupting terrorist activities under varying conditions. Key issues for future network research include: conducting rigorous comparative analyses of four historical waves of modern terrorism for clues about the present and future waves; building more comprehensive, cohesive, and integrated theoretical models capable of explaining the formation, structure, and consequences of terrorist networks; developing new methods of measuring network relations among terrorists; performing more laboratory experiments as an alternative to collecting inaccessible and dangerous field observation data; and creating large, high‐quality relational datasets to test social network theories of terrorism.

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Methodological Triangulation in the Analysis of Terrorist Networks

Cited by 9 publications

References 0 publications

In Their Own Words? Methodological Considerations in the Analysis of Terrorist Autobiographies

In Their Own Words? Methodological Considerations in the Analysis of Terrorist Autobiographies

Conducting Qualitative Research on Terrorism: Finding and Using Primary Sources

Emerging Trends in Social Network Analysis of Terrorism and Counterterrorism

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