By Miriam Bernhardt
Wishing
to deepen my practical knowledge about qualitative research in preparation for
my master thesis and, potentially, doctoral research, I embarked on an
unconventional internship with the Migrating out of Poverty Research Consortium.
I shadowed researchers on fieldwork. For two weeks in September 2018, I had
hands-on experience of doing research in the Casamance region of Senegal. Retrospectively,
I view the time as one that has had a lasting impact on me as a scholar and as
a person.
Getting
into the research
The idea of shadowing researchers at
work came to fruition in conversation with Migrating out of Poverty researcher
Dorte Thorsen, who taught some of the MA programme on Migration and Global
Development at the University of Sussex. She and her colleague, Mélanie
Jacquemin, from Aix Marseille University – Institut de Recherche pour le Développement,
invited me to join them in the field. They were going to do a second round of qualitative
research revolving around the trajectories, and living and working
conditions, of adolescent migrants moving to Ziguinchor in Lower Casamance.
Already on our journey to the field by
ferry from Dakar, I was introduced to important actors within the project and the
outcomes of earlier field trips. Concurrently, I was invited and encouraged to
join any upcoming discussion or activity and to add important remarks from my
observational point of view. Such openness and valued collaboration enabled me
to profoundly immerse myself in both the challenging and delightful dynamics of
research.
Learning
to work with local research assistants
At first, the initial planning meetings
and several incidents during the inquiry showed me the importance of trusted
cooperation with the local research assistants. It was significant that the local
research assistants acted as knowledgeable informants, as they lived on site
and were often more aware of the daily routines of working adolescents,
employers and others playing a role in the adolescent migrants’ lives, as well
as the best times to trace them. Furthermore, they could notice the presence or
absence of former interviewees and if dynamics in the field had changed since
the last field work. Similarly, it was necessary, that the research assistants
were capable of speaking the various local languages, approaching potential
interviewees sensitively and explain the research objectives in a simple and
comprehensive manner to the adolescents. In this sense, I realized just how dependent
short-term research was on successful collaboration with research assistants,
and thus how important it was to choose carefully assistants and to develop
their skills.
Ethical
and practical considerations
During the course of the research, it also
became evident how much flexibility along with effective planning and
reflection is asked of a researcher, who often faces limited time to conduct research.
We traced interviewees at unusual hours or often had to arrange interview
locations spontaneously close by their work places and often in bustling and
noisy places. However, such spontaneous manoeuvres
were accompanied by constant prioritization and reflection on the overall state
of the research outcomes, eventually guiding decisions about further action
steps to comprehensively answer the research question.
By being part of a substantial number of
different interviews, I learned how important it was to comprehensibly explain
your role and objectives as a researcher. Especially, as you will be repeatedly
asked about your intentions. In those cases, where the adolescents had well
understood the underlying motives, they were more trusting and appreciated the
interest and concern shown in their situation. Moreover, I drew insights from how
differently the interviews evolved. I saw adolescents who opened up to us and
revealed very vulnerable stories or felt the need to show us the dire
circumstances they worked in. In other cases, interviewees felt increasingly
uncomfortable to speak and indicated their need to end the interview
prematurely. In each situation, I learned
from the researcher’s reactions to respect the autonomy of the adolescents to
terminate the interview at any time.
Thinking ethically about the research
also involved a consideration of how taking part could affect the adolescents.
On the one hand, sensitive and attentive interaction with the young migrants’
bosses or guardians proved significant. It was imperative to ask for their
permission first before approaching the adolescents and to make sure they
understood the scope in order to avoid subsequent irritation that could be
directed at the adolescents. On the other hand, I understood the significance
for researchers of being aware of and connected with local social services and
initiatives, in order to bring a range of initiatives to the adolescent’s
attention, if interviews revealed that their situation was particularly
precarious.
Using
participatory methodologies
The research project furthermore offered
the opportunity to get to know different participatory methods. Within my
studies, I have had little insights into such methods and even less into the
practicalities of employing them. Thus, I was keen to explore one of the
applied methods called “photovoice”. It invited the young participants to
document their daily activities with pictures that served as a basis for an interview
the following day. Although I initially had the impression that the interviews
with the photos shifted the focus too much on the details of the pictures
leaving less time to ask more elaborate questions, I increasingly started to appreciate
the method. It opened the way for surprising insights, as the adolescents could
steer the course and content of the interview with their photos and narratives,
as much as the researchers with their questions. In the same vein, I consider
the method as valuable to build up trust from the outset. The first step of
entrusting the participants with a camera constitutes a leap of faith and together
with the given time to decide what they would like to show, it lays the
foundation for the participants to ease into the interview situation. At the
same time, some photo prints handed over a few days after the interview helped
to round off the encounter.
The observation of participatory group
activities starting with a role play or mapping were equally instructive. I
witnessed once more that having a thematic framework was important, however leaving
sufficient space for the adolescents to express their concerns proved enriching
for the following focus group discussions and could generate unexpected
insights.
Shadow
learning
In conclusion, the observation of the
research paired with the possibility to launch methodical or conceptual
questions at any time, created an unbelievable stimulating setting for me. I
left the research field with an excitement to further follow up on research
from a theoretical side complementing the practical experience I gained.
Concurrently, the field visit triggered the deconstruction of former concepts
of migration and child labour and provided me with valuable background
knowledge for my work with adolescent migrants in Germany.
