Abstract
A reader who picks up this handbook will, we imagine, share the excitement and frustration about trust that thinkers have experienced for millennia and that is still felt throughout the growing community of trust researchers nowadays: how trust is one of the most fascinating and fundamental social phenomena yet at the same time one of the most elusive and challenging concepts one could study. As scholars we have to reach past the undying topicality and apparent importance of trust as we apply our research methods to this challenge, only to realize their limitations when the object of study is trust. The chapters show that we have a broad array of methods that help us rise to the challenge of capturing at least part of the multi-faceted phenomenon of trust. To date, an overview of the many methods that can be used for studying trust has been missing. It is our aim to provide such an overview with this handbook, while recognizing that it cannot be fully exhaustive. Through this handbook we hope to encourage trust researchers to reflect on the methods they use, to acknowledge contributions from a variety of methodological positions and to improve methods and instruments according to the specific challenges posed by trust. Our optimism in this respect is based on the relative methodological openness and pluralism we have observed in the trust research community. Perhaps more than in other fields, our research topic prevents methodological hubris as it constantly reminds us how no method can provide the perfect understanding of a phenomenon. In line with these considerations, the editors and contributors of this volume have explored trust from a variety of directions. As trust is a concept that cannot be easily observed or even defined, the trust research community has drawn on ideas across academia to gain a better understanding of it. This book reflects on the journeys of trust researchers and through the sharing of their experiences hopes to cast light on methods for those researching trust.