This paper examines methodological approaches for researching international terrorism and peace policy through qualitative data analysis. It discusses the critical role of primary sources—including government documents, legislative records, and scholarly publications—in building credible security research. The paper details four key analytical strategies: data reduction and coding to identify themes, triangulation to verify findings across multiple sources, and computer-assisted software tools to enhance analysis efficiency. It demonstrates how combining manual and automated methods can strengthen research validity while analyzing how legal frameworks, particularly UN and national anti-terrorism legislation, can be reformed to combat terrorism and advance international peace.
The importance of primary data in completing this research proposal on international terrorism and peace cannot be overstated. Primary sources are essential to security studies because they provide the direct evidence and first-hand testimony necessary for in-depth analysis. As Catino (2014) argues, without primary sources, a researcher cannot adequately gain comprehensive understanding of the subject matter. This research will collect primary data from government documents, serial newspaper publications, magazines, and scholarly journals to gain accurate and fair understanding of terrorism and international peace.
Government documents are particularly critical for this research topic because they contain direct evidence of government functions, activities, and policies. Since the end of the Cold War in the 1990s and the dissolution of the former USSR, the U.S. government has been preoccupied with ending terrorism within and outside the United States. For the past few decades, the government has published numerous documents on strategies to combat terrorism. This research will therefore collect primary data from government publications, legislative hearings and debates, regulations and treaties, official legal texts, investigative reports, and records of government finances and expenditures.
Using primary sources offers several significant benefits for this research. It provides access to expert opinion, perspectives, and insights from leaders and key players on strategies to shape the security environment. Primary sources also allow the researcher to accurately analyze the issues, leadership opinions, and events that are shaping global security. More importantly, primary data helps researchers understand the human perspectives on security environments. Additionally, primary sources can minimize bias, politicization, arbitrariness, and inaccuracies that may appear in secondary sources.
The study employs several techniques to carry out data analysis. The first step involves exploring data analytically, identifying important themes and concepts, and using coding systems to isolate key statements from documents. According to Schutt (2011), data reduction is the first essential step in qualitative data analysis. This technique requires the researcher to review the entire document and outline important concepts, refining the document and removing unnecessary texts. The strategy helps retain only texts that are relevant to the research proposal.
Taylor-Powell and Renner (2003) support this approach by emphasizing that understanding the data by thoroughly reading all texts is foundational. By following this method, the researcher reads the text multiple times and identifies patterns such as concepts, ideas, terminologies, and phrases. Although this task can be labor-intensive, it represents a crucial component of qualitative data analysis. After reviewing the texts, the next step is to select important themes that will help answer the research questions and achieve the research objectives. Finally, the researcher assigns abbreviated codes to ideas and themes collected from the texts.
Coding is a major step in qualitative data analysis. The strategy involves segmenting the data into analytical units. When the researcher locates meaningful segments in the text, words are used to code those segments. Coding marks units or segments of data with descriptive words and symbols, which helps organize data into categories. The benefit of organizing data into categories is that it creates patterns and connections between categories while providing research findings that answer the original questions.
Despite the benefits of the analysis techniques discussed above, it is critical for researchers to carry out triangulation to ensure the validity and reliability of data. Triangulation is the part of data analysis where the researcher uses multiple methods to investigate a research question in order to enhance the validity of findings. In other words, triangulation uses more than one method of investigating a research question to verify whether the findings are accurate and supported by evidence. Guion, Diehl, and McDonald (2011) point out that triangulation assists researchers in investigating whether research is true—accurately reflecting the situation—and whether findings are certain, supported by evidence.
In social research, using one method to investigate a research question may suffer from limitations such as bias and inaccuracies that can affect overall findings. As Rothbauer (2008) argues, triangulation facilitates verification of data from two or more sources. While triangulation can be used in both qualitative and quantitative research, it is more appropriate in qualitative research because it is an effective strategy to enhance validity and reliability. By combining primary research, secondary research, and case studies, the researcher can cross-check data from multiple sources, producing more accurate results. This research will also analyze research questions from different perspectives using data triangulation and theoretical triangulation.
Data triangulation is the strategy of collecting sources from different perspectives to enhance research validity. The researcher will use primary sources, secondary sources, and case studies as triangulation methods. The benefit of data triangulation is its cost effectiveness and time efficiency. Theoretical triangulation uses different theories and theoretical propositions to arrive at solutions to research problems.
The proposal derives several benefits from using triangulation for data analysis. First, triangulation is an innovative way to conduct data analysis because it assists in understanding research phenomena. Moreover, it is a unique way of integrating theories and enhancing understanding of research problems. However, triangulation as a method of data analysis is time-consuming because it requires collecting data from multiple sources. Another disadvantage is that conflicting data may arise if the researcher does not collect data from reliable sources. Despite these shortcomings, triangulation is very critical in enhancing the credibility of research findings (Golafshani, 2003).
Beyond manual data analysis, researchers can employ computer-assisted software to enhance their work. Typically, the software assists in creating, applying, and refining categories of texts and making linkages between themes and concepts. The benefits of using software in qualitative data analysis include speeding up the analysis process and facilitating the preparation of research findings. Several recommended software packages include AnSWR, ATLAS, Ethnograph, HyperResearch, NVivo, and NUD-IST, each available through their respective institutional or commercial websites.
These computer-assisted qualitative data analysis packages assist researchers in theory building and provide different possibilities for delivering data analysis and interpretations. Some packages help researchers create codes and make linkages with relevant texts in their thesis. Moreover, these programs are helpful in carrying out Boolean operations—using set words such as AND, NOT, OR, THEN, IF, and EXCEPT—to create logical combinations that enable complex searches that would be very time-consuming if carried out manually.
Despite the benefits of computer-assisted qualitative data analysis, it is still critical to combine manual data analysis with computer-assisted analysis. After completing data analysis, the next step is to present results. However, it is very important to compare findings with existing literature to ensure that results correlate with previous studies. Comparing results with similar studies enhances research validity and reliability. According to [University] (2014), it is critical for researchers to collaborate and validate results—essential components in qualitative data analysis. Researchers should use peer-review techniques to validate results by discussing findings with trusted experts in the field, who can audit the research and offer suggestions. Expert auditing enhances the trustworthiness of the overall research study.
The research addresses the central question: "What changes to existing legal regimes may reduce the incentive and make the law more effective in preserving peace?" The findings reveal that the current United Nations legal regimes are not effective in countering terrorism and enhancing international peace. It is essential to recognize that a handful of advanced countries provide almost all financial support to the United Nations. The top five contributors supply more than two-thirds of the entire UN budget. If these countries were to withdraw financial support, the United Nations would not survive. Therefore, the United Nations must draw up a new charter and change its entire legal regime. One strategy would be to restrict the voting rights of members who refuse to contribute financially to the UN budget, ensuring the organization has sufficient funds to counter terrorism and promote international peace.
The proposed results also reveal the need to amend the existing UN legal system to include comprehensive anti-terrorism law. Overview of the current UN legal regime shows that there is no formal law directly addressing international terrorism. The United Nations Security Council should be given legal mandates to implement military force against any group or nation supporting terrorism. Tams (2009) argues that "the legal rules governing the use of force form the core of modern international law. The ban on the use of force is widely held to be peremptory in nature, and has often been described as the 'cornerstone' of the modern international systems" (p. 259).
However, in the face of current threats to the international system, the United Nations has no choice but to change its entire legal systems and use force in combating international terrorism to enhance international peace. Although Article 2(4) of the UN Charter refrains member states from using force in international relations, this proposal maintains that it is the responsibility of the United Nations to defend member states against international terrorism. Articles 42 and 43 of the UN Charter recognize "forcible enforcement measures within the framework of the organization's collective security system, and the right of self-defense against armed attacks" (Tams, 2009, p. 360). The United Nations should amend these articles to use military force against terrorist groups to enhance international peace.
Additionally, current national laws do not adequately address combating dynamic threats and crimes against humanity. The United States should promulgate comprehensive anti-terrorism legislation to counter terrorism within its borders, using existing UK anti-terrorism legislation as a model. The results also reveal that national laws are too lenient in handling terrorists and other national and international crimes endangering international peace and harmony.
The results of this proposal will provide several important contributions. First, the research will enhance government understanding of strategies that can be used in changing existing legal regimes to combat terrorism and enhance international peace. The researcher will disseminate results through journal and newspaper publications to reach academic and professional audiences.
The proposal will also enhance understanding among academic communities, policymakers, private industry, individuals, and other stakeholders regarding methods that can be employed in changing existing legal regimes to combat terrorism and advance international peace. By integrating rigorous qualitative methodology with policy analysis, the research bridges the gap between academic investigation and practical governance.
"Academic and policy stakeholder knowledge advancement"
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