BY Malika Kukreja
Do you feel hesitant as a researcher before the start of field visit for primary data collection? Is there a fear of the unknown and unsettling questions about how you can gather maximum participation from the respondents? Since the research field of social sciences is about understanding society from the perspective of the people, it can often make the urban researcher apprehensive of approaching the field to immerse oneself completely according to the local social norms and setup. This is particularly relevant to the rural areas, wherein, one may feel like an outsider. Moreover, respondents may also hesitate to interact openly, thereby hampering the objectives of the research.
‘Participatory Rural Appraisal’ or PRA is a method that involves the local people directly in research by taking into account their experiences, viewpoints and knowledge. This implies that a researcher must ensure a face-to-face conversation with the rural people in their own setting to completely understand the problem at hand. The approach of PRA suggests that the researcher engages to listen, feel and comprehend the issues of the rural people by leaving behind the comfort zone of working through an online or telephonic mode. The guide on PRA prepared for investigators working on Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (UBA) with villages quotes “what the eyes do not see, the heart does not grieve about”(Ramesh, 2020). The essence of this quote is to look at the problems of the rural areas from the eyes of the rural people. Yet, this is not enough because complete immersion requires more than just a visit to the village.
How to be an active participant instead of an observer?
From my personal experience while conducting surveys with farmers or while interacting with youth and women in rural areas in Punjab, a few common ‘barriers’ emerged, which I believe are often faced by researchers, which can make him/her only an observer. The goal is to overcome those obstacles and immerse fully with the local communities. I would like to share some major components that are inevitably missed:
- Observe and listen: PRA consists of involving local people in research, it is of utmost importance for a researcher to observe and listen patiently to the respondents. This does not imply that questions are not raised or asked, but the years of experience from the latter’s point of view will only supplement the research process. Of course, this may also include non-cooperation from certain people, which must be dealt with without coercion. Establishing trust by making purpose of the research clear and abiding by the research ethics then becomes a major part of this process. It is also worthy of mention here that information that is delivered may not always be true or authentic, for which it is necessary that the researcher observes even miniscule details during field visits.
- Use of local language: There is absolutely no alternative solution than to converse with the people in the language that they are comfortable with, which is likely to be the local language, that the researcher may not be familiar with, especially when working in different regional areas. For most international projects, the findings are reported in English language, which the rural people have limited or not fluency with usually. It is important to translate the questions, even for the survey questionnaires or while making presentations, in the local language for better interaction and to understand the context of the field. In fact, researchers even suggest that it is imperative to hire field facilitators/enumerators that belong to the local region and are fluent in the concerned language (Cheema, Mehmood & Rehman, 2018).
- Culturally appropriate dressing: There is no denying the fact that rural people are still traditional in their mindset towards the clothes that are worn, especially when it comes to women. In Punjab, my experience has shown that women and girls are dressed in Salwar-Kameez, while some older women may even cover their heads with the Dupatta. In such a scenario, a female researcher dressed in formal trousers or even western clothes may feel uncomfortable to fit in. Anthropologists argue that there lies a symbolic value in clothing with respect to culture and identity other than the dictates of fashion (Dhar, Das & Mondal, 2018).
Initially, I was taken aback upon being suggested to wear a Dupatta as well while visiting the southern district of Mansa, only to reach there and realise that women in most houses did not even come forth to serve tea or refreshments. They would hand it over to the men at the door of the sitting area, who often interacted alone with the facilitators. While this may seem conventional to the alleged ‘modern’ society in urban areas that deems necessary social change in rural India, these routines including the dressing style is part of the social norms that a researcher must adhere to in order to relate to the local culture.
In the words of the great Indian agronomist, MS Swaminathan, who said, “One of India’s major blessings is the rich store of experience and knowledge available in the rural and tribal areas.” Demographic estimates report that India’s 65.07% of the population resides in rural areas, thereby providing vast opportunities for research and exploration (The World Bank, 2020). Therefore, the key tip for any researcher is to ‘blend in’ according to the rural culture completely when engaging with the field.
Food for thought: Towards a Greener Revolution 