Analysing courthouses’ spaces, places and architecture: some methodological outlines

Abstract

The aim of this article is to retrospectively reflect on my experiences conducting research on the intersections between courthouse architecture and access to justice in family and children’s matters. This raises methodological and practical issues motivated by the novelty of the theme, as was the case when I began my doctoral research approximately 13 years ago, in Portugal. Therefore, I will discuss the strategies adopted and the instruments I used within a qualitative methodology framework. I will particularly focus on the following methods: 1. visiting courthouse buildings, in order to examine, among other elements, localities, façades, courtrooms and other areas and spaces; 2. photographing the different angles/spaces, and 3. writing down a field diary with all my observations of the trips, visits, and encounters. This article traces the early preparations for selecting the courts to visit, how I got to the selected courts, what it was like visiting and photographing such buildings, and some of the difficulties I encountered. In the concluding section, with the benefit of hindsight, I offer reflections on what I would have done differently.