Tuesday 16th July
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Survey research in developing countries 4 |
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| Convenor | Dr Evelyn Ersanilli (University of Oxford) |
| Coordinator 1 | Dr Melissa Siegel (Maastricht Graduate School of Governance ) |
Research on survey methodology is burgeoning. However, most research on survey methodology is conducted in developed countries and it remains unclear to what extent best practices developed there are also valid in developing countries.
On the one hand survey researchers in developing countries do not always share the problems of their colleagues in developed countries. Response rates are for instance rarely an issue in rural Africa where social trust is high and surveys are sometimes seen as a welcome break from the monotony of daily life rather than an infringement on personal time. On the other hand the demographic structure and level of development of these countries can pose a number of specific challenges. A high number of different local languages can complicate questionnaire translation, low quality roads make it hard to reach remote villages and obtain a representative sample, ethnic tensions can make the selection of interviewers an arduous task. Some challenges such as the lack of up-to-date data on population size and composition are not unique to the development context, but are more common.
This session aims to explore the challenges involved in conducting survey research in developing countries and discuss best practices. We welcome papers on all phases of survey design and data collection. Papers may address topics such as:
- Creating sampling frames with good coverage
- Consequences of illiteracy/low literacy for questionnaire and answer scale design
- Development of standardised question wording in areas with high linguistic diversity or non-standardised scripts
- Conducting surveys in non-democratic countries
- Conducting surveys in countries with (recent) ethnic tensions or civil war
- The role of gender in survey research in patriarchal cultures
- Use of mobile phone and other modern communication technology in survey research
- Cultural challenges in partnerships with local researchers and authorities (hierarchy, post-colonialism)
Surveys in post-conflict settings not only represent a methodological challenge, but also considerable costs. Still, they are frequently supported by donors as a desirable component of development assistance programmes. The Small Arms Survey carries population-based surveys in several developing countries and post-conflict areas, on issues related to security, justice, small arms and armed violence. The characteristics of these survey settings require taking into account logistical constraints (e.g., poor communications, poor conditions for travelling), cultural and contextual sensitivities (e.g. post-traumatic stress), as well as the safety of those who collect data, and the risk of fanning emotions in highly volatile regions. In these circumstances there is a high risk of developing survey tools which may not be realistic or feasible, resulting in poor "value for money". The paper will present the case of a recent survey carried out in Kenya with several examples of integrated qualitative research.
In the developing world, most notably in countries in the midst of conflict, there are numerous challenges which mean conducting in depth qualitative research and robust representative quantitative research is difficult, and sometimes impossible. Under these challenging circumstances, there is a balance to be struck in terms of achieving the highest degree of methodological rigour, given time and cost limitations, with a pragmatic approach to the conflict situation and the challenges this brings.
Taking the example of a public opinion research commissioned by the International Committee for the Red Cross on the impact of conflict on people living in conflict zones in countries including Afghanistan, Liberia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the authors discuss their strategy for tackling the major challenges experienced when conducting face-to-face qualitative and quantitative fieldwork in these areas to identify a number of solutions that were put in place. The rationale for the approaches taken is discussed. These challenges included selecting and training a field force that is willing and qualified to conduct interviews, identifying respondents in areas with no sample frame, and accessing and persuading respondents to take part. Overall, the paper argues for a pragmatic, collaborative approach to social research, and that the need for representative data has to come second to the need to ensure the safety of both interviewers and respondents. In particular, it will advocate the important role local agencies play in making research in these difficult areas possible.
Almost all significant survey research conducted in developing nations makes use of locally hired surveyors. While rarely acknowledged in the applied reports their work makes possible, these surveyors are very human in analytically relevant ways. This paper reports on an extensive debriefing conducted with a dozen individuals who conducted ~700 surveys within a purposively selected hard case: they were conducting an applied survey on the relationship between residents, with a particular interest in minority and female respondents, and competing justice systems in an area that is still suffering open conflict for a international donor. The purpose of this debriefing was to identify decision points faced by fieldworkers that may shape the quality of the data produced, to solicit reports of the forms of reasoning that these individuals used when making their choices and to explore what shaped if and how they normally reported such analytically relevant decisions. The intent of this exercise was to better calibrate expectations regarding data quality in surveys conducted in this region.
Internet based online survey is argued for its effectiveness and quick response receiving method in interdisciplinary research. However, its applicability and efficiency is still contestable in cross-cultural context. This paper focuses on those cultural aspects which emerged as methodological challenges while deploying online survey in Information Technology and Business Process Outsourcing (IT-BPO) industries in India. Unexpectedly, the online method resulted into extreme low level of response. Despite, having access to internet, computer and laptop with the respondents' online survey could not yield minimum expected responses. As a result, low responses from online method led to adopt paper based survey with the same individuals. This resulted into drastic increase in response numbers literally from zero to hundreds. In total, out of 302 responses 202 were collected at individual level from paper-pencil mode and remaining 96 were collected online. All 96 respondents were recruited and monitored personally by individuals in contact. In light of this, paper makes contribution in suggesting key strategies for recruiting subjects and maximising responses in Indian context irrespective of its population focus.