Qualitative Research on Climate Change

10-day summer school training at Chiang Mai University by MyClimate

From 24-31 January 2023 the MyClimate project held an intensive course on ‘Qualitative Research on Climate Change’ at Chiang Mai University (CMU, Thailand). DIIS researchers Helene Maria Kyed, Justine Chambers and Lily Salloum Lindegaard co-facilitated the course with human geographer, Chaya Vaddhanaphuti, a lecturer at CMU. DIIS MyClimate partner the Regional Centre for Social Science and Sustainable Development (RCSD) at CMU hosted the course. It was attended by 28 participants from Myanmar and Thailand, including MyClimate researchers as well as students and environmental activists, who were selected on the basis of an open call.

The course introduced the participants to current state-of-the art qualitative research and social science debates on climate change. A core idea driving the course was to extend our MyClimate research project to a broader group of people already working as environmental activists and community researchers, equipping them with the skills and knowledge to co-produce research on climate change. Drawing from critical scholarship in political science, anthropology and human geography, the lectures and interactive discussions focused on key methodological debates driving qualitative research on climate change, the political economy of climate change, the politics of climate change adaptation and mitigation initiatives, how local communities are responding and adapting to climate change in the face of conflict and other forms of state violence. We also covered questions related to ethics in conducting qualitative research on climate change and environmental issues in authoritarian and conflict-affected states.

Two of the course days included field trips to two villages in northern Thailand that had different approaches to environmental conservation and land use. The aim was to expose students to qualitative research in practice and to the significant challenges facing local communities and the environment. Conversations with villagers also revealed the importance of investing in grassroots community-led ethnic and indigenous organisations.

The final day of the course included discussions of how qualitative research on climate change can feed into policy debates and actions on the ground, including the dilemmas this involves. Course participants also did group work where they designed their own research projects.