•  
  •  

Home > HCAS > HCAS_PUBS > HCAS_JOURNALS > TQR Home > TQR > Vol. 28 > No. 10 (2023)

 

Abstract

The qualitative approach is immensely helpful in policy research as it provides a comprehensive, contextually grounded, and nuanced understanding of policy processes and issues. It is characterized by certain epistemological imperatives that demand the collection of rich, diverse data and a thick description of the context. However, conducting fieldwork to collect data required to fulfill these imperatives poses diverse and stiff challenges, especially for young policy researchers in the Indian context. In this background, this paper argues that, while epistemological principles require qualitative researchers to collect rich and diverse data, the researcher’s social identity and the socio-political ground reality in the field pose significant challenges for young policy researchers in collecting field data. More specifically, the paper discusses the challenges posed by different elements of the researcher’s social identity like economic class, caste, gender, and education. It also discusses the challenges posed by different elements of the socio-political ground reality in the field such as socio-economic inequality, gatekeeping, and by politics played by field-level actors like primary contacts, community leaders, participant groups, and public bureaucrats. It draws from the thematic analysis of fieldwork experiences documented (in the form of fieldnotes and different types of memos) by three Indian researchers (including two females) who were collecting qualitative data for three previous and separate qualitative research projects. This fieldwork was carried out in two different states in India. The discussion in this paper will prove helpful, especially to young qualitative researchers, in planning and executing their fieldwork in developing countries, especially in India.

Keywords

fieldwork challenges, India, researcher identity, field-level politics, socio-economic inequality

Author Bio(s)

Sameer Pendharker is a doctoral student at Centre for Technology Alternatives for Rural Areas (CTARA), Indian Institute of Technology (IIT Bombay), India. His doctoral research involves understanding water service modalities in slums areas of India using the theoretical lenses of Social Practice Theory and Access Theory. He has a Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering and Master’s in Technology and Development. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Sameer Pendharker, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay. E-mail: sameer.pendharker@gmail.com.

Sneha Swami is a doctoral student at the Centre for Policy Studies, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay), India. Her doctoral research involves investigation into last-mile delivery of services in the electricity distribution sector, using the theoretical lenses of Street-level Bureaucracy and Public Service Outsourcing. She has bachelor's in Electrical Engineering and master's in Technology and Development. E-mail: snehasswami@gmail.com

Himali Mhatre is a doctoral student at the Centre for Technology Alternatives for Rural Areas (CTARA), Indian Institute of Technology (IIT Bombay), India. She is working on understanding the Response of lay-people to COVID-19 pandemic through the lens of Mental Models and Compliance Models as a part of her doctoral research. She has a bachelor's in Electrical Engineering and master's in Technology and Development. E-mail: himali.1095@gmail.com

Dr. Subodh Wagle is Professor at Centre for Technology Alternatives for Rural Areas (CTARA) and Associate Faculty at Centre for Policy Studies, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay), India. Prof. Wagle has been working on policy and regulatory analysis especially in the electricity, water, environment, and development sectors for the last thirty years. In the recent years, his research is focused on the last mile issues pertaining to policy delivery in different sectors, including electricity, education, nutrition, Covid-response, and urban services. E-mail: subodh.wagle@iitb.ac.in

Publication Date

10-4-2023

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

DOI

10.46743/2160-3715/2023.6680

Download

Share

 
COinS
 
 

To view the content in your browser, please download Adobe Reader or, alternately,
you may Download the file to your hard drive.

NOTE: The latest versions of Adobe Reader do not support viewing PDF files within Firefox on Mac OS and if you are using a modern (Intel) Mac, there is no official plugin for viewing PDF files within the browser window.