Abstract :
The plight of internally displaced persons are better imagined than experienced. Internally displaced persons
(IDPs) are people who have lost their means of livelihood as a result of some form of insecurity such as insurgency
which forced them out of their natural or preferred domiciles. Left on their own fate, with little or no care,IDPs are
confronted with divergent livelihood vulnerabilities ranging from healthcare to broken kinship ties.This paper presents an
empirical data gathering experience among internally displaced persons in New Kuchingoro and Area 1 IDP Camps in
Abuja, Nigeria. The study adopted a concurrent mixed research method comprising questionnaires for quantitative and
Key Informant Interviews KII for qualitative data gatheringfrom a sample size of 969 generated from a population of
7,573 using the Taro Yamane Statistical formula.The major challenges experienced were access to the camps coupled
with skepticism on the essence of the interview and fear of victimization. Despite all the challenges, the paper
recommends that field work as a sociological research process should be encouraged among scholars; and the experience
could bring about appreciation of what could be termed “Practical Sociology” which involves going there, seeing the
people and hearing them personally narrate their experiences bythemselves.
Keyword :
Internally Displaced Persons, Livelihood Assets, Challenges, Field Work, Abuja.