A gas up in Sasol: qualitative research in a team

For the first time this week I was part of a team of qualitative researchers.

Okay, let me explain the difference between qualitative and quantitative research.

Quantitative research is surveys, statistics, census and other such research that promotes over-arching solutions to problems, sometimes a "one shoe fits all" approach.

Qualitative research is also often referred to as participant observation. Qualitative researchers spend a long time in their field, getting to know the people whom they are working with. Such research may use surveys or statistics as a spring board to delve deeply into issues.

I am trained in qualitative research and I do feel this type of research yields better results inasmuch as we are able to understand issues from the various perspectives of people affected, as opposed to presuming that one solution will fit all people.

However, that said, both types have their place in improving the social structure of the world and I am very excited to be working with the Centre for Social Entrepreneurship and Social Enterprise, giving me the opportunity to learn more about quantitative work.

Our first project that we were rather quickly thrown into was, and still is, a project with Sasol. Sasol has employed the centre to conduct a rather rushed mixed methods assessment of various Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SME) in the Sasolburg and Secunda area. Their rationale is that they wish to uncover SME's that may be unnoticed but that are florishing and supporting the economy of these town.

So as a team of twelve researchers we set out on our first leg of the project - semi-structured interviews.

An initial scout had found the various entrepreneurs and asked them to meet us at designated meeting halls. We spent up to two hours per person, learning about the various businesses.

Because we had such a short time to spend with each person, developing rapport with our informants quickly was vital to the success of the day. I had two interviews in Sasolburg and two interviews in Secunda. I was lucky with three out of my four interviews, in that developing such rapport came easily.

The most difficult part of qualitative research in balancing the power between researcher and informant. In many societies age deems a person to be higher up the hierarchy scale than say a 25 year old with little life experience. I have been brought up to believe that respect demands respect, however, I am also aware that some people who are older than me will expect a certain amount of due respect shown towards them. As such, time must be spent inquiring about their day and the health of their family.

My first informant was an elderly women, a teacher, in Early Childhood Development and when she saw my interest in her organisation, she opened up and gave me wonderful stories. The theorist Gertz might have called this 'thick description' - lots and lots of information, including my observations using my senses, of temperature, sounds, body language and movements etcetera.

My second informant was an elderly man, and similarly, he enjoyed being given the space, and my nodding silences, to tell me about the evolution of his business.

My third informant was a young woman, close to my age, and with such ease, without having to even think about it, we began chatting, slipped easily into the meat of the interview and only half way through did I mentally step back and realise that I did not have to make a concerted effort to get to know my informant.

My fourth informant was the most difficult to crack. We also had a bit of a language barrier. Even though I had checked with her to make sure she was comfortable with English and she had said yes, "but I am not professional", I could sense that she was sometimes not able to fully express her answers. Thus, near the end we became a bit bored with each others company. There was little conversation outside of the semi-structured interview questions, and I could tell she was, throughout the whole interview, a little shy and a little bored.

In my last large research project (my 2010 thesis) I was lucky that I did not have to sit down to such semi-formal discussions with my informants. The type of people they were (break dancers) and the type of situation in which we found ourselves (language of the body,  the same place over an eight month period), meant that I was able to conduct such questions in a very informal and relaxed situation. The Sasol project brought to glaring reality the constant negotiation of power and the give and take of personal information that qualitative researchers face in their work.

One last tip - when using such semi-structured interviewing techniques, remember to keep an element of conversation in the session; show that as much as you are asking them to give to you, you are willing to return the favour and let little snippets of yourself join in their stories to you. Conversation relaxes a person; quick fire questioning does not.

Story Gathering in Malawi #1

So after much determination, positivity and some tears, I have an internship in Malawi, gathering some ol' stories, writing some ol' childrens' books and illustrating them ol' books. *pause for ecstatic dancing*

In about a month and a half to two months time I will be working just outside of Lilongwe, Malawi at a place called Nature's Gift Permaculture, a community centre that centres around permaculture (ethical food planting, effortless food planting, all-benefiting and non-invasive food planting) (find the link to NGP in the heading on on the side of this blog under "my favourite links" section). My brief (a snippet from the e-mail that Hope Thornton sent me):

"We think that one of the most effective ways of teaching about permaculture is through song, dance, and stories.  Would you be interested in an internship that focuses on education through story telling- perhaps with the final outcome being a children's book (written in Chichewa and English?). You could work with local communities surrounding our area to help you gather data regarding already existing stories and provide space for living and a base for research."

I am going to be the 'leader' of the project, self-directing, self-motivating etc etc etc. Hope has told me that the centre is only about a year old and so they do not have a lot of extra man power to throw around. But they will have in-put in directing me towards specific themes that they want to focus on. However, with me being the director I can use the themes as spring boards and can also focus on things on the side line that may not directly relate to specific projects. 

What I foresee is that I will be doing anthropological field work, theatre/drama-type workshops, art and story work shops and documenting story tellings (pictures and videos) and anything else deemed appropriate. This is why I love love love field work, because while you have an idea of what you would like to look for, you essentially go into the field not knowing what you will find and how you will go about finding it! And it is with this unknowing stand-point that you often find the most amazing finds. Because you do not have a preconceived idea about what you will find,  it is like starting a new life each time you go into the field. It is like you have a new chance to treat this situation in a better way. You spend your life living your life in a certain way, stuck in a rut, or not necessarily stuck but pretty much doing everything in much the same way. Which is great and is what I would like to have. When I have done everything else that I want to do: 
-like shave my hair
-live in an ashram
-learn all the different dances around the world (while travelling to each of these places)
-hike to base camp of Everest
-live in a light house for more than a week
-live on/work as part of a crew of a tug boat
-dance at the Moulin Rouge and then 
-dance with Madam Zingara's or Vaudeville. 

Then I would like to (maybe) buy a house. Maybe rent... But have a place where I can unpack my books, buy my own bed and my own coffee pot where I will make coffee every morning, check my emails, do whatever work I am doing, clean my house every Saturday morning. And maybe paint the walls a colour that I love. 

If at this stage I am still an Anthropologists and I am still going out into the field, then I will still have a new start each time I start a new project. And even if I have routine I will still have pockets of excitement, heady excitement, when I don't know what I will find, and who I will become. Because in field work, you can't but help being changed by the experience, and sometimes in profound ways. You may learn a lesson, experience a shift in beliefs and values or you may change your life's path completely. And all in participating in Anthropological field work. Qualitative field work, where it doesn't matter that you will only have worked with one community in your work (unlike say Sociology or Economics field work where researchers do quantitative study, where amount matters more than the in depth quality) and that it will have taken a few months. What is important is that you have focused on specific examples, areas or situations and therefore we realise that there are no over arching solutions or answers to the problems or questions in the world. And this is why you can work with the same themes in you life work, but each situ is new and fresh - cliche? A fresh start.

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In Malawi, I will be starting a-fresh, in more than one way. Keep connected and you will see how. You can subscribe to my blog, and if you are friends/family with anyone else who has expressed desire to keep updated about what I am doing on my adventures, then please tell them to subscribe to my blog. I would love to hear from you all, so comment and get involved with my stories, adventure and research. 

My progress thus far is this: I have money from my 21st that I will use a small portion off, added to my small saving to pay for immunisations and transport costs to get to Malawi. Hopefully there I will be provided with accommodation (this is still  unknown on my side). But I have applied for several fundings so these will (they will they will they will!) kick into effect a few weeks into my travels. If anyone knows of anyone who has an old digital camera (one with removable lenses, not a little point and shoot), an old one that they are no longer going to use and would like to donate it, do let me know. And if you know of anyone else who has any gear that I might need, gear that they are definitely NOT going to use again, do do do let me know. 

Until "Story Gathering in Malawi #2"

Keep excited