Methodological flexibility: lessons from undertaking fieldwork in Nigeria

The growing literature on methodology for qualitative geography research has tended to focus on research methods and techniques, with limited attention paid to the challenges inherent in the data collection process. Yet methodological reflections on the data collection process are crucial to understanding how qualitative geography research is conducted. This paper discusses the data collection process for a qualitative geography case study on the migration experiences of Nigerian Commonwealth Scholars (NCS), conducted in Nigeria in 2020. Focusing on a range of methodological approaches to participant recruitment, research interactions and interview method implementation, the analysis unpacks both the methodological challenges that impact the data collection process and the mitigations to address these challenges. Viewed within the wider context of methodological approaches, rather than techniques, the paper offers a broader analytical framework that reveals the interplay of flexibility and adaptability in dealing with the messiness and reality of conducting qualitative geography research. Crucially, this paper offers valuable insights that will help geography educators, researchers and students learning about qualitative geography research in action reflect on method implementation and adaptation and innovate new methodological approaches to data collection.