Exploring Organized Crime Beyond Institutional Sources

n this chapter, we discuss the definition of organized crime and the methodological challenges that this area of inquiry arises. Based on our experience interviewing mafia members, we draw reflections on the challenges of collecting and analyzing these kinds of data. In particular, our chapter focusses on the logistical and relational difficulties that these kinds of interviews pose and the ethical and emotional issues they imply. It then offers some suggestions for addressing them. We highlight the need for advancing the discourse on methods in the field of organized crime, by increasing the opportunities for sharing research practices among organized crime scholars.