Social Research and the Study of Mediation: Designing and Implementing Systematic Archival Research

Abstract

As the study of negotiation and mediation has grown rapidly over the last three decades, so have the number of approaches to it. Behavioral scientists of all persuasions bring their ideas and methods to bear on the study of mediation. This paper identifies some of the more significant of these approaches, and argues that many of them are predicated on erroneous, even unrealistic, assumptions. It argues that the best way to conduct research on mediation is to study such behavior in the real, not the simulated, world, and choose data that is directly generated by parties or mediators in conflict. The paper argues for a systematic archival research, and presents the broad outlines of such an approach can be organized and conducted. The findings presented suggest the importance and relevance of this method of research into mediation.

Representatives of future generations as promoters of sustainability in corporate decision processes

“…Finally, we used undergraduate students at a large German University as participants in our study. Laboratory experiments with student participants are criticized for not yielding representative evidence (Falk & Heckman, 2009, see also Bercovitch, 2004). For instance, Donohue and Taylor (2007) state that there might be key differences between the students' role‐playing and actual negotiator role behavior because the latter one is associated with the internalization of specific expectations and therefore might lead to the pursuit of different negotiation strategies.…”

Empirical Studies in International Mediation

“…Given the need to examine social processes systematically, we believe large-N analyses are at the cutting edge in the evolution of research on conflict management. Large-N studies of mediation can generate new knowledge, confirm old patterns, and, by supporting conditional theoretical arguments, provide policy guidelines for more effective conflict management (Bercovitch, 2005). Equally important, this type of approach has been generally underutilized in the study of conflict management, while analyses of topics such as the democratic peace have led to the development of an increasingly powerful analytical tool kit that we can draw from.…”

From Lab Experiments to Real Negotiations: An Investigation of International Iron Ore Negotiations

“…When we conduct negotiation experiments, “we usually know how the data is recorded and generated; we know the hypotheses tested and the causal inferences made; we know that when more data is needed, further experiments may be undertaken to improve data quality; what we do not know is how we can overcome the sense of artificiality that inevitably characterizes these studies” (Bercovitch : 416). Negotiation experiments provide us with valuable insights, but evidence from real negotiations allows us to better understand the social complexity (Barry and Fulmer ).…”