Negotiating access to research on triad society: the importance of Chinese and triad cultural capital

Abstract

Negotiating access to participants presents challenges for researchers of organised crime. Issues in accessing the field of criminal organisations in Western settings have been well-documented. However, strategies for accessing Chinese criminal organisations remain embryonic. This article presents findings that represent the researcher’s first-hand fieldwork experiences in overcoming such challenges, especially the problem of access negotiation when conducting triad society research. As the first ethnographic study of triad society in China, this paper aims to identify the ways in which the effective use of Chinese culture and triad subculture, insider information and knowledge facilitates access negotiation to the field, and helps establish social networks with individuals at different levels of the triad hierarchy. Attention is paid to the ways in which the researcher utilised Chinese networking culture, including guanxi principles and the mechanism of renqing as well as face culture and face-work, in gaining access to and building trust with triad members. Techniques to acquire triad subculture will also be addressed.