In January 2026, APSA’s Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Program held a four-day methods training workshop in Doha, Qatar, for early-career scholars titled “Engaged and Participatory Research in the Middle East and North Africa.” Held in partnership with the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, the training was led by Drs. Lara Khattab (Doha Institute), Stacey Philbrick Yadav (Hobart and William Smith Colleges), Sarah E. Parkinson (Johns Hopkins University), and Ammar Shamaileh (Doha Institute). The program convened 19 doctoral students and early-career practitioners from across the MENA region to examine the challenges of conducting engaged and participatory research in applied contexts. The workshop marked the fourth methods training since the launch of the MENA Methods Program Initiative in 2023.
The training aimed to build on the growing interest in the methodological, practical, and ethical questions that arise from the use of political science research in non-academic or academic-adjacent contexts. Together with workshop fellows, co-leaders explored how engaged research approaches may challenge conventional boundaries between academic and non-academic knowledge production. Sessions examined research conducted in collaboration with civil society organizations, advocacy groups, community-based actors, and policy institutes, highlighting both the promises and risks of applied scholarship.
Fellows critically examined how power, positionality, and institutional constraints shape research design, data collection and analysis, the dissemination of research in the MENA region, particularly in conflict-affected and politically sensitive contexts. In addition to lectures and thematic sessions, the program included facilitated discussions with experts working at the intersection of research, policy, and practice. Guest speakers from NGOs and research institutes engaged fellows in conversations on Track II diplomacy, the role of research in everyday peacebuilding, and the challenges of conducting human rights–focused research in applied settings. Discussions also addressed best practices for supporting diplomatic processes in conflict-affected settings and conducting research that reflects the priorities of affected communities. Co-leaders and fellows further reflected on the role of research-sponsoring organizations in fostering effective, ethical, and minimally extractive collaborations across the region.
Participants also engaged with practical methodological challenges such as integrating diverse forms of evidence, including interviews, focus groups, survey data, and participant observation, and assessing the reliability of data collected in politically sensitive environments. During these discussions, fellows had the opportunity to reflect on the ethical considerations involved in conducting research collaboratively with civil society organizations and community-based actors.
“The workshop encouraged meaningful reflection on ethics and engaged research in ways that I plan to incorporate into my own research and teaching.”
–Workshop Fellow
“Group activities were especially helpful because they pushed us to creatively apply the readings to realistic scenarios and to work collaboratively with one another.”
–Workshop Fellow
Building on these discussions, the program featured a panel on “Research in the Public Eye,” bringing together scholars and practitioners to reflect on the practical, methodological, and ethical challenges that arise when research is produced for public engagement. Panelists discussed how research intended for public audiences may differ from work produced for academic communities and the risks this kind of research can pose to different stakeholders in the research process.
Throughout the workshop, fellows also participated in small-group exercises, collaborative discussions, and project-based activities designed to help them apply participatory and engaged research principles to their own work. The program also offered designated office hours for fellows to receive individualized feedback on their research projects from the workshop facilitators.
Funded by Carnegie Corporation of New York, this workshop was part of APSA’s MENA Program, a multi-year initiative to support political science research, training, and professional networking among early-career scholars across the Arab MENA region. Through annual workshops, departmental collaborations, research grants, methods training and mentoring initiatives, the Program extends APSA’s engagement with the international political science community and strengthens research networks inside and outside the MENA region. For program news, updates, and additional information, contact menaworkshops@apsanet.org or visit the project website: http://web.apsanet.org/mena/. ■
From left: Drs. Zahra Babar (Georgetown University Qatar), Ahmed Morsy (Arab Political Science Network), Sarah Parkinson (Johns Hopkins University), and Yara Hawari (Al-Shabaka Policy Network) during the “Research in the Public Eye” panel at the Doha Institute.
