Asking the Right Questions in Field Work: Lessons from 3 Case Studies
Description
In this paper we present three different field studies: Rwandan case study about data collection regarding health indicators of young children; Bangladesh study about health information systems; and Peru case study of a distant educational add-on to a long distance wireless medical network. All three case studies use survey or interview to collect data, and face issues obtaining data that is trustworthy, usable and reflects the sentiment of the population benefiting from the project. In Rwandan study cultural sensitivity about discussing food prevented collection of reliable health data regarding food diversity. In Bangladesh study reluctant health personnel created delays and hindered data collection. In Peru there was no buy in of the local population so the network was not used at all. The conclusion is that the knowledge of local economic and social conditions is necessary in formulating surveys and interviews, as well as the community involvement.
Asking the Right Questions in Field Work: Lessons from 3 Case Studies
In this paper we present three different field studies: Rwandan case study about data collection regarding health indicators of young children; Bangladesh study about health information systems; and Peru case study of a distant educational add-on to a long distance wireless medical network. All three case studies use survey or interview to collect data, and face issues obtaining data that is trustworthy, usable and reflects the sentiment of the population benefiting from the project. In Rwandan study cultural sensitivity about discussing food prevented collection of reliable health data regarding food diversity. In Bangladesh study reluctant health personnel created delays and hindered data collection. In Peru there was no buy in of the local population so the network was not used at all. The conclusion is that the knowledge of local economic and social conditions is necessary in formulating surveys and interviews, as well as the community involvement.