Source Triangulation as an Instrument of Research on North Korea

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Structured Abstract

Article Type: Research Paper

Purpose-As an authoritarian country that exercises rigid censorship, North Korea presents significant challenges to data-gathering for research in international relations. This paper aims to outline how source triangulation can help to overcome some of these challenges.

Design, Methodology, Approach-This study draws on the author's observations of academic scholarship on North Korea that has been undertaken through the use of source triangulation. This study examines chronological data triangulation, perspectives-based data triangulation, and methodological triangulation as means of analyzing trends in the study of North Korea.

Findings-Proper application of source triangulation as an instrument of research can enable scholars to find ways to circumvent some of the challenges in gathering data on North Korea. Although the author emphasizes that source triangulation should not be seen as a panacea, it does provide scholars with possible alternative lines of research inquiry.

Practical Implications-Other scholars may find this text useful in planning their research strategy in undertaking scholarship on North Korea.

Originality, Value-This paper builds on work by other North Korea scholars as well as the author's own experience in applying source triangulation as an instrument of social science research.

Keywords: challenges of research on North Korea, Chronological Data Triangulation, Methodological Triangulation, Perspectives-Based Data Triangulation

I.Introduction

Much of 2017 was centered on the tensions stemming from North Korea's missile and nuclear tests, and the Trump Administration's jingoistic tweetstorms and "War of Words" with North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un. In contrast, 2018 was marked by a surprise series of high-level summits between Kim Jong Un and ROK President Moon Jae In, as well as the Singapore summit between Kim and Trump. Although these summits ended in various statements proclaiming Pyongyang's willingness to denuclearize, 2018 has come to a close without any observable progress in the denuclearization of North Korea. As of 2019, North Korean intentions and the prospects for denuclearization remain unclear. It is within this context that the author emphasizes source triangulation as a social science method in researching North Korea. Although source triangulation is not a panacea in overcoming the challenges of research, it is, when properly applied, an effective instrument of scholarship that helps to overcome the challenges of research on North Korea.

This analysis shall be conducted in...