Freedom of information requests are an important research tool yet receive comparably little methodological scrutiny relative to other methods commonly used by geographers. This article considers two methodological aspects to freedom of information requests. The first is how they operate as “live archives” that take shape as batches of files are compiled in ways that reflect search terms, negotiations over the scope of requests, bureaucratic processes, and considered judgments of researchers in response to variables both within and beyond their control. The second considers how freedom of information requests operate as a political methodology through the encounter they produce with state bureaucracies. Using examples that cut across these concerns and illuminate some of the ways that methodological scrutiny matters, the article discusses how freedom of information requests present overlapping yet distinct concerns for qualitative research on issues of reflexivity, ethics, and positionality. The methodological concerns that arise are not frequently discussed but, as with other methods, are important to understanding the limits and reach of data collection, analysis, and accessibility both for researchers and for the communities who may have interest in, or be impacted by, geographic research.

中文翻译：

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实时档案：作为政治方法论的信息自由请求

信息自由请求是一种重要的研究工具，但与地理学家常用的其他方法相比，受到的方法论审查相对较少。本文考虑了信息自由请求的两个方法论方面。第一个是它们如何作为“实时档案”运作，以反映搜索术语、请求范围谈判、官僚程序以及研究人员针对内部和外部变量的深思熟虑的判断的方式编译成批文件而形成。他们的控制。第二个问题考虑信息自由请求如何通过与国家官僚机构的接触而作为一种政治方法发挥作用。本文通过一些例子来跨越这些担忧，并阐明方法论审查的一些重要方式，讨论了信息自由要求如何对反身性、伦理和立场问题的定性研究提出重叠但独特的担忧。出现的方法论问题并不经常被讨论，但与其他方法一样，对于研究人员和可能感兴趣或受其影响的社区来说，了解数据收集、分析和可访问性的局限性和范围非常重要。地理研究。