Gendering Research Design

Research is a fundamental skill for international relations academics and practitioners alike. Failure to consider gender in one’s research can create incomplete and sometimes faulty conclusions, which will lead to an underrepresentation in the programs and policy that the research will inform. Doing this recreates and reinforces the systems of oppression that impact women and non-binary genders. In this workshop, we will discuss best practices of engendering the research design process for projects in human security, development, and other related fields. Including gender considerations in research has the ability to create more inclusive, equitable policy and programming decisions. The skills learned will be applicable and transferrable to most research settings. The workshop will focus on: 1) how to design and draft gender-sensitive research questions; 2) how to prepare gender-aware research processes (interviews, focus groups, surveys, and other data collection tools); and 3) analyze a case example of a research proposal and strengthen the outcomes by including gender dimensions. The workshop will address both quantitative and qualitative research methods.