Immersing Into Indigenous Justice in Bolivia: Focused Ethnography, Interviews, Diary, and Field Notes

With this case study, I aim to present a short and accessible account of the research methods in the context of the study I conducted for my PhD. My research involved a qualitative empirical analysis of the mechanisms of conflict resolution of an indigenous community in Bolivia and of the country’s system of legal pluralism. The study was conducted between September and December 2018 in the area of La Paz and was based on in-depth semi-structured interviews with professionals, stakeholders, and members of an indigenous community, together with a focused ethnography and the use of a diary and field notes. In this case study, I discuss how and why I chose this particular topic area to research, introduce the project, and analyze the qualitative multimethod approach used to meet my research goals. Then, I explore the planning and practicalities I had to navigate when conducting my research and reflect on the method in action, before concluding with a section on the lessons I learned during fieldwork.