Rapid responses in the social sciences require rapid research methods. In this Q&A, Thurka Sangaramoorthy and Karen Kroeger, authors of Rapid Ethnographic Assessments: A Practical Approach and Toolkit for Collaborative Community Research (Routledge 2020), discuss the benefits and limitations of rapid ethnographic assessments. Unlike traditional ethnographic research methods which are lengthy and resource intensive, REAs provide timely, low-cost data collection and dissemination that can produce rich understandings of social, economic and policy factors that contribute to the root causes of emerging situations in a variety of contexts

Kroeger, Karen

Sangaramoorthy, Thurka

English

LSE Research Online

In	the	current	climate,	Rapid	EthnographicAssessments	are	the	research	method	we	needThis	is	the	third	post	in	a	six-week	series:	Rapid	or	Rushed?	exploring	rapid	response	publishing	in	covid	times.As	part	of	the	series,	there	will	be	a	virtual	roundtable	on	Friday	6th	November,	1.30pm	featuring	Professor	JoshuaGans	(Economics	in	the	Age	of	COVID-19,	MIT	Press	and	Richard	Horton	(The	COVID-19	Catastrophe,	PolityPress	and	Editor	of	The	Lancet).	Register	here	Rapid	responses	in	the	social	sciences	require	rapid	research	methods.	In	this	Q&A,	Thurka	Sangaramoorthy	andKaren	Kroeger,	authors	of	Rapid	Ethnographic	Assessments:	A	Practical	Approach	and	Toolkit	for	CollaborativeCommunity	Research	(Routledge	2020),	discuss	the	benefits	and	limitations	of	rapid	ethnographic	assessments.Unlike	traditional	ethnographic	research	methods	which	are	lengthy	and	resource	intensive,	REAs	provide	timely,low-cost	data	collection	and	dissemination	that	can	produce	rich	understandings	of	social,	economic	and	policyfactors	that	contribute	to	the	root	causes	of	emerging	situations	in	a	variety	of	contexts.Q:	Can	you	tell	us	about	your	book	and	what	rapid	means	in	your	approach?Our	book	provides	a	guide	for	understanding,	designing,	and	conducting	rapid	ethnographic	assessments	(REAs)—a	team-based,	multi-method,	relatively	low-cost	approach	to	data	collection	that	relies	on	methods	like	interviews,focus	groups,	mapping,	observations	and	brief	surveys.	REAs	produce	rich	understandings	of	social,	economic	andpolicy	factors	that	contribute	to	the	root	causes	of	emerging	situations	in	a	variety	of	contexts.Rapid	means	the	rapid	collection	and	dissemination	of	information	used	for	action.Traditional	research	methods	are	useful	but	can	take	months	or	years	to	design	andimplement,	and	consume	considerable	resources	before	findings	are	finalized	andshared.	Program	managers	and	practitioners	often	need	to	act	quickly	to	makedecisions	about	how	well	programs	are	working	and	what	needs	to	be	changed	to	helpthem	better	reach,	serve,	and	respond	to	their	clients’	needs.	The	need	for	timely,usable	data	can	be	especially	critical	for	programs	serving	socially	marginalized	orvulnerable	populations	that	are	hidden,	hard	to	reach,	or	reluctant	to	use	services	due	tosocial,	political,	and	environmental	factors.	In	the	current	climate,	we	need	morepractical	research	and	assessment	tools	and	skills	that	help	decision	makers	obtaintimely	information	on	emerging	problems,	engage	local	communities	in	problem	solving,foster	new	collaborations,	and	inform	program	and	policy	adjustments.	Q:	In	your	experience,	is	rapid	ethnographic	assessment	a	new	phenomenon?REA,	like	other	rapid	data	collection	methods,	has	roots	in	international	health	and	development,	arising	in	the1970s	from	a	need	to	respond	quickly	to	problems	in	communities	where	few	data	were	available,	local	researchcapacity	was	often	limited,	and	where	the	success	of	interventions	required	direct	engagement	and	collaborationwith	local	communities.	Experts	in	agriculture,	community	development,	and	health	sought	a	middle-groundbetween	“quick	and	dirty”	methods	such	as	cursory	observations	made	during	site	visits	and	traditional	researchmethods	such	as	long-term	ethnography	or	surveys	that	could	take	years	to	complete	and	result	in	few	data	thatcould	be	applied	to	planning	programs	and	services.Impact of Social Sciences Blog: In the current climate, Rapid Ethnographic Assessments are the research method we need Page 1 of 3		Date originally posted: 2020-10-13Permalink: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2020/10/13/in-the-current-climate-rapid-ethnographic-assessments-are-the-research-method-we-need/Blog homepage: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/What	might	be	different	today	is	that	REAs	have	broad	applicability	for	those—including	students,	researchers,governmental	and	non-governmental	institutions,	and	community	members—interested	in	research	efficiency	andproductivity	as	well	as	action-oriented	and	translational	research.	REAs	are	flexible	and	serve	a	variety	ofprogrammatic	and	policy	needs	including	program	planning,	program	evaluation,	quantitative	survey	planning,	andcommunity	participatory	research.	They	can	also	create	a	framework	for	communities	to	work	together	to	address	aneed	or	problem,	and	as	a	means	of	transferring	research	skills	to	local	communities.REAs	have	broad	applicability	for	those—including	students,	researchers,	governmental	and	non-governmental	institutions,	and	community	members—interested	in	research	efficiency	and	productivityas	well	as	action-oriented	and	translational	researchQ:	What	do	you	think	are	the	benefits	of	rapid	research	and	responses	in	ethnography?REA	may	help	researchers	and	communities	to	quickly	act	on	the	most	pressing	challenges	affecting	communitiestoday	by	engaging	with	community	members,	transferring	research	skills,	and	generating	timely	data	and	findings.Changing	social	welfare	and	development	priorities,	persistent	social,	economic,	and	health	disparities,	and	theneed	to	engage	affected	communities	in	new	models	of	care	and	sustainability	are	requiring	programs	to	innovateand	adapt	quickly	to	new	conditions.	Many	graduate	programs	provide	little	guidance	in	research	methods,	design,and	implementation.	Students	undertaking	traditional	ethnographic	research	are	often	told	to	“figure	it	out”	in	thefield	and	are	left	unsure	about	how	to	conduct	research	and	transform	data	into	well-organized	arguments.	Theymay	have	limited	time	and	funds	to	conduct	research	and	need	to	adapt	to	the	expectations	of	communities	andorganizations	with	whom	they	work.	Although	REA	is	not	meant	to	take	the	place	of	long-term	ethnography,	itprovides	a	framework	for	using	complementary	ethnographic	methods	to	investigate	problems	and	collaborate	withcommunities	in	research.		Today,	research	methodologies	need	to	be	accessible	and	usable	by	those	outside	theacademy	including	community	leaders,	program	managers,	field	staff,	and	others	without	formal	research	training.In	our	book,	we	take	seriously	the	theoretical	significance	of	practice	that	centers	communities	in	the	collaborationof	both	the	acquisition	of	knowledge	and	its	utilization.Q:	What	advice	do	you	have	for	researchers	looking	to	conduct	rapid	ethnographic	assessments?Impact of Social Sciences Blog: In the current climate, Rapid Ethnographic Assessments are the research method we need Page 2 of 3		Date originally posted: 2020-10-13Permalink: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2020/10/13/in-the-current-climate-rapid-ethnographic-assessments-are-the-research-method-we-need/Blog homepage: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/First,	it	is	important	to	know	when	and	when	not	to	use	REA	and	to	plan	and	prepare	accordingly.	REA	is	veryuseful	in	a	number	of	contexts:	(1)	when	more	information	is	needed;	(2)	when	an	issue	is	developing;	(3)	whenhidden	or	vulnerable	populations	need	to	be	reached;	(4)	when	a	program	or	policy	needs	to	be	developed	oradjusted;	and	(5)	when	communities	need	to	be	involved.	REAs	are	not	useful	when	solely	quantitative	informationis	needed.	Other	factors	like	time	and	resources,	and	the	audience	for	the	REA	findings,	should	also	be	weighedwhen	considering	whether	a	REA	is	the	best	approach.	REAs	may	look	deceptively	easy	to	execute,	but	theyrequire	technical	skills	and	guidance,		and	planning	can	help	determine	whether	REA	is	a	good	fit.Further,	whether	the	REA	results	in	high-quality	data	that	can	generate	useful	and	actionable	findings	depends	agreat	deal	on	how	well	planned	and	implemented	the	REA	is.	Planning	presents	a	valuable	opportunity	for	the	teamto	work	with	funders	and	community	stakeholders	to	generate	ideas,	conduct	literature	reviews,	decide	on	the	focusof	research,	choose	appropriate	methodological	tools,	determine	site	locations	and	groups	to	work	with,	prepare	atimeline	and	budget,	and	conduct	preliminary	site	visits.	Careful	planning	and	organization	lead	to	better	preparationfor	fieldwork,	data	collection,	and	analysis.Despite	criticism	from	traditional	methodologists	and	ethnographers	(who	are	often	located	within	theacademy)	about	questions	related	to	reliability	and	validity	due	to	its	relatively	rapid	nature,	we	arguethat	essential	ethnographically	rich	data	based	on	community-driven	needs	can	be	collected	within	therealities	of	programmatic	time	and	budgetary	constraintsQ:	Do	you	think	there	are	any	risks	to	rapid	research	in	ethnography	and	the	social	sciences	more	broadly?REA	requires	an	understanding	of	the	purpose	and	value	of	qualitative	methods	and	ethnography,	as	well	as	thestrengths	and	limitations	of	REAs.	There	is	often	a	misperception	among	novices	that	REA	is	“just	talking	to	people”and	that	anyone,	regardless	of	training,	can	do	it.	We	wrote	the	book	because	we	feel	that	both	the	methods	andresults	of	REAs	are	not	being	shared	widely	enough	with	those	who	might	wish	to	learn	more	about	how	toundertake	similar	work.	Often	REA	reports	are	either	restricted	to	a	small	audience,	or	circulated	internally	within	anorganization,	appearing	only	in	the	gray	literature,	which	makes	them	difficult	to	find	and	locate.	Even	when	thoseconducting	REAs	try	to	publish	their	work	in	peer-reviewed	journals,	they	face	considerable	challenges	becausefindings	based	on	rapid	or	qualitative	methods	are	viewed	as	too	narrow	or	not	as	trustworthy	as	those	based	onquantitative	data.REAs	can	also	face	unique	publishing	challenges	in	venues	where	qualitative	research	is	widely	published.	Criticsfeel	that	work	utilizing	rapid	qualitative	data	collection	methods	lack	rigor	or	that	the	findings	of	such	applied	workare	insufficiently	theoretical	and	of	little	interest	to	audiences	accustomed	to	more	traditional	types	of	studies.Despite	criticism	from	traditional	methodologists	and	ethnographers	(who	are	often	located	within	the	academy)about	questions	related	to	reliability	and	validity	due	to	its	relatively	rapid	nature,	we	argue	that	essentialethnographically	rich	data	based	on	community-driven	needs	can	be	collected	within	the	realities	of	programmatictime	and	budgetary	constraints.Note:	This	interview	gives	the	views	of	the	author,	and	not	the	position	of	the	LSE	Review	of	Books	blog,	or	of	theLondon	School	of	Economics.	The	interview	was	conducted	by	Dr	Emily	Cousens,	Managing	Editor	of	the	LSEImpact	blog.	Image	by	Gordon	Johnson	from	Pixabay	Impact of Social Sciences Blog: In the current climate, Rapid Ethnographic Assessments are the research method we need Page 3 of 3		Date originally posted: 2020-10-13Permalink: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2020/10/13/in-the-current-climate-rapid-ethnographic-assessments-are-the-research-method-we-need/Blog homepage: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/

In the current climate, rapid ethnographic assessments are the research method we need

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In the current climate, rapid ethnographic assessments are the research method we need

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