Researching the Roma in Criminology and Legal Studies: Experiences from Urban and Rural Participant Observation, Interviews, and Surveys

Abstract

The Roma are the largest European minority and among the groups that have suffered the most dreadful persecution and trauma in the past that persists today. This chapter addresses the fieldwork experiences of two early career researchers who conducted criminological and socio-legal studies on several Roma groups in urban and rural settings in two countries. We discuss the particularities necessary to access the field and gain the participants’ acceptance, those both with and without Roma ethnicity, through diverse gatekeepers, i.e., a network of acquaintances, as well as NGOs. We used such data collection methods as interviews and self-reported surveys in our studies, the procedures and challenges of which are discussed herein. Emotional and ethical challenges in our studies were related to the dilemmas with respect to our role as researchers and witnesses of poverty and difficult situations or testimonies. We argue that the adaptation of tools, integration of researchers who share an ethnic or linguistic background with the participants, thorough reflection on the researchers’ role, and an open-minded attitude that accepts the participants’ cosmovision are necessary to conduct fruitful research among the Roma.