Embracing Contingency: Turning Fieldwork Challenges into Biographical Insights

Biographical research, particularly interviews with people, is full of unpredictability. Even with meticulous planning and execution, researchers often encounter unanticipated answers, narratives, accidents, minor mishaps, and obstacles. However, such contingencies are not inherently detrimental; unexpected events, such as chance encounters, missteps, surprising responses, or flashes of analytical insight, frequently propel research in unforeseen yet productive directions.

This session seeks to examine the challenges and significance of contingency in biographical research. We call for papers that explore the following questions: (1) What kinds of unexpected challenges and difficulties researchers face in the course of their fieldwork; (2) How they handle them and what kinds of outcomes they obtain as a result; and (3) How these unanticipated accidents can be transformed into meaningful “fruits.” Drawing on their research experiences, this session aims to reconsider the notion that contingencies—such as chance encounters, failures, mishaps, accidents, and spontaneous ideas—are not random misfortunes but diamonds in the rough. Rather than dismissing these fruits of chance as mere coincidence, we unpack the constituent elements of "contingency," thereby paving new methodological pathways for biographical sociology.

Furthermore, this exploration will reveal how our responses to such contingencies reflect the divergent academic environments, cultures, and historical contexts that shape qualitative research in various countries and regions. As global academia increasingly prioritizes quantitative research, this session offers a timely opportunity to re-evaluate the distinct value and significance of biographical sociology.