Day Seventy Three - Research

When one looks up the word research in the dictionary one will find the definition according to Wikipedia is: can be defined as the search for knowledge or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method.
This is technically what I do but with a Juba, South Sudan/our company flair. The steps of a research project go like this (in my mind):

Step 1 – Submit bid for contract
Step 2 – Be accepted for said contract
Step 3 – Design tools, and draft terms of reference
Step 4 – Research begins
Step 5 – Write report
Step 6 – Submit draft report
Step 7 – Submit final

Our research consists of quantitative and qualitative data collection. Quantitative research is raw data collection and produces more general data. The aim is to identify features, and then make statistical models from that data. Smart phones are used for our data collection. In theory the phones are a great idea, but I really don’t like them. They cause me more stress than I would like but they do save us time in data entry and trees. Qualitative research is about exploring issues, understanding the facts and answering questions. It gives us the “why” for the quantitative research. It gives us an in-depth understanding of the community we are conducting the research in.

I enjoy qualitative research because it means that I get to walk around the markets, observe, interview retailers, and do focus groups with community leaders and other groups of people. It is very enjoyable and very informative. I am essentially getting paid to sit and listen to people tell me stories. Working with the data collectors consists of training the data collectors on the surveys we are doing and teach them how to use the phones. Then I sit in the market waiting for my data collectors to come to me with problems. It is not too stressful. The stress comes when dealing with the phones after our work in the market is finished.

This, in short, is what I/we do...