Warm greetings to all, and I hope that you are well! A quick note up front to say that if you are interested in subscribing automatically to this blog, you can do so from the home page and I'll take you off the email list (you'll get notified when there's a new post). Also, if you don't want to receive blog updates, no worries-- just let me know and I will take you off the email list.
I am currently in Arua. As I mentioned in the last post, I needed to return to Kampala to get my long term visa. Fortunately, I shared a ride down to the capital with my friend Fivi and we travelled through the Murchison Falls National Park, catching some nice sites of giraffes, buffalo, and antelope. I had a quick 24 hours in Kampala to get the visa finalized, pick up a few supplies, and reserve a bus ticket to head back to Arua. Today I caught the 7am Nile Star bus, which took about 9.5 hours to reach Arua. It was actually not the worst journey.. the size of the bus somehow diminishes the bumpiness of the roads, and I had a window seat where I could just relax and enjoy the scenery.
Giraffe in Murchison Falls National Park Fivi and her daughter Larvet Sophia ("Princess")
I'm going to backtrack a bit to two weeks ago. After my first weekend settling into Imvepi, I dove into preparations for data collection. On Monday I met the Imvepi settlement commandant (there's a new one) to introduce myself and present my letter of introduction from the Office of the Prime Minister. Then I had meetings with Monday Albert at Danish Refugee Council (DRC), who has been an enormous help getting logistics prepared ahead of my arrival. In the next three months I am scheduled to complete research activities with 80 participants from DRC, 40 hosts and 40 refugees, which is one third of my overall target sample of 240 participants across three organizations by mid-November.
Monday recruited two refugee translators and one host translator to work with me over the next few months. We started off by meeting just with translators for the refugee side, Tabita and Josephine, to talk over the research protocols and create a work schedule, discuss payments, etc. These women both speak Arabic and Kakwa, and have both previously worked for DRC. Monday selected them on the basis of having excellent English skills.
We are going to work with refugee participants across 7 villages in two of Imvepi's four zones. It's confusing, but basically we are trying to work with refugees living in many different parts of the settlement to understand how their firewood/forest product access differs. On Wednesday I started working with Josephine who will assist with participants in Zone One villages. One of her responsibilities is to call village leaders and participants before we intend to arrive to inform them about the nature of the research and find out if participants actually want to take part. Josephine contacted folks on Tuesday night so that we were all set to work with our first participants on Wednesday morning.
Map of Imvepi with zones
Our research protocol has two parts: the initial meeting with photo sorting and sketch mapping exercises, and then a follow up walk to accompany participants when they collect firewood from the bush. I will describe the photo sorting in this post, and everything else in the next post. When we first reach a participant's compound, we find a shady area to sit down (usually under a tree or in the shade of one of the small buildings on their compound) and discuss the purpose of the research and make introductions. Then we review the crucial points of our "informed consent" document, including that participants can stop engaging at any time, they are in no way obligated to engage, they will receive money as compensation for engaging, we will be taking photos, videos, and audio recordings of some research activities but that these will not be personally traced back to the participant, and more. All communication happens with me speaking in English and Josephine translating for the participant into Kakwa and/or Arabic depending on the participant's mother tongue.
Examples of refugee compounds, with many small clustered buildings and central open space
Once informed consent is completed and signed, we start with a photo-sorting activity to gauge the perceived benefits of tree planting and tree-based interventions for participants. The approach we use is called "Q-methodology" or "Q-sort." Traditionally, Q-sort is based on participant ranking of a range of statements about a particular subject to learn their preferences. Given low literacy rates in Imvepi, we instead are using photo cards to represent concepts. We have 25 cards (I printed photos onto Shutterfly coasters) which each represent a particular benefit of trees divided into 5 categories (social, environmental, financial, structural, and human benefits). Examples include: trees providing shade for community meetings, trees providing leaf material to feed animals, trees improving soil fertility, trees providing fruits for children, and more.
A participant filling in the Q-sort grid
We lay out a big grid on the ground (on top of an old grain sack) with 25 spaces, and then lay out the 25 photo cards beneath the grid and explain the meanings of each card so that there is standardized understanding across participants. We ask the participant to place the cards which they feel represent the greatest benefit of engaging in tree programming to the left side, while the least important benefits should go to the right. Cards that are neither very important nor non-important can fall in the middle. You'll see in the picture above that the grid is pyramid shaped. Each column has a score, from +4 at the first column to -4 at the last column. Having fewer slots in the first and last columns forces the participant to be more selective with their most important and least important tree benefits.
We tested out this approach last summer. I found then, and now, that participants seem to really enjoy the sorting process and engage deeply with the photos. Sometimes they will take up to 15 minutes to review the cards and refine their arrangement. After they land on an arrangement, I ask if they want to make any changes, and often they will switch some cards around. When the sorting is finalized, I take a picture. Each photo card has an assigned number on the back and when I get home later in the day, I use software called PQ Method to enter in the particular sorting pattern for each participant. After all sorts are finished in November, I will use a statistical method called factor analysis (I will spare you the details) to look for sorting patterns across participants, which will be compared with demographic information such as age, tribe, gender, household size, as well as the particular types of tree-based interventions a participant has engaged with, to look for alignment. This can help us learn about how different groups might benefit differently from trees and could inform future tree programming to maximize benefits for participants in a more nuanced, targeted way.
Completed Q-sort. See if you can guess the meanings of the cards!
I'm going to sign off here because this is already a long post, but please stay tuned for research overview part 2, and be well in the meantime!
The visualisation by use of cards in the methodology used is interesting. Where can one gets details of the factor analysis? Sounds interesting.
Thank you for sharing always.
Always grateful for the pictures and detailed descriptions of what you are doing personally and professionally and the people you are meeting along this journey.