Navigating through Research-fatigued Communities

Rose Jaji (PhD), University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe

Smallholder farmers in Kenya. [Source: McKay Savage from London, UK (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons]

Researchers, whether their research sites fit into the classical home-field dichotomy or conflate home and the field, plan the field trip with the supposition that they will find research participants. What researchers may not have discussed on the numerous academic platforms available to them is the possibility of encountering a research-fatigued or research-weary community. Potential research participants may also have expectations of the research. But do researchers consider research from the perspective of research participants and what it means to tell one’s story and not see the relevance of the research to one’s life? Relevance of the research to research participants plays an important role in facilitating access (Coleman 1996). Some research participants may have participated in previous researches and may want to know why they should keep telling their stories. I address my experiences as I carried out research with farmers in an irrigation scheme in Zimbabwe and urban refugees in Kenya. 

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