【Report】Summary of the seminar delivered by Dr Marcus Mietzner

9 November 2023

Title: Writing about Indonesia's Jokowi: Methodological, Ethical and Practical Problems

In the seminar, Dr Mietzner shares his research experiences in writing a book project about Indonesia’s current president, Joko Widodo. The seminar focused on challenges in designing the research project, followed by ethical and practical issues to be considered while conducting fieldwork. Throughout the seminar, students participated actively by asking questions relating to their own research.

Dr Mietzner first discussed research design. He advised students to begin with thinking about the purpose of the research. This may be done by considering the potential audience of the research. Then, the researcher should understand their own goals or their expected contribution in conducting the research project. Then, the researcher should begin background research on their desired topic. In Dr Mietzner’s case, his research was focused on several themes such as the condition of Indonesian politics during the Joko Widodo administration and the building of the new capital city.

Dr Mietzner then continued to discuss the challenges of conducting research, especially relating to politicians. In conducting his research, Dr Mietzner discussed the issue of research funding, which could pose as an ethical issue that aspiring researchers should consider. He recommended clarifying funding issues up front, such as understanding the motivations of the funder, and to take steps to ensure the academic integrity of the research until its publication.

Then in the final part of the seminar, Dr Mietzner discusses the practical challenges by sharing his experiences of interviewing Indonesian politicians. He advised students to be prepared before conducting interviews so that they may have better process the information they receive. In addition, multiple rounds of interviews or conducting interviews with other sources were also recommended to better confirm the validity of the information received.