Duncan is an anthropologist who has done several years of ethnographic research in the eastern Indonesian province of North Maluku looking at a variety of topics, including forced migration. One aspect of his research projects explores communal violence and post-conflict reconciliation in Indonesia, with a focus on North Maluku. Part of this research project has explored the topic of internally displaced persons in Indonesia (North Sulawesi and North Maluku). His other research interests include indigenous rights, religious change, and rural-rural migration.