Student Research Project Sri Lanka 2002 Supervisors: Prof. Dr ...

perhaps most crucially, the entrepreneurs’ perception of the given situation. Therefore, I
chose to apply a TXDOLWDWLYH research approach.
Qualitative research approaches focus on the interviewees’ own perspective. It enables to
analyse their perceptions, interpretations and structures of relevance associated to certain
situations and phenomena (see Flick et al. 2000, p. 17). The basic assumptions that unite the
many different qualitative approaches is the idea that social reality is a result of meanings
and coherence which are continuously produced and re-produced in social interaction (ibid.
20). Individuals share common meanings that they ascribe to objects, events, situations and
people (.Blumer 1973, in: ibid.) These shared meanings, shape their individual as well as
their collective behaviour (ibid.). In the following sections the process of the research, its
underlying principles and the research methods applied will be described. Furthermore, the
experiences made during the collection of data will be reflected upon.
4.1 Preparatory Phase in Colombo and Beruwela
Arriving in Sri Lanka I had the vague idea to do research on the impact of the ongoing peace
process on economic action at the district or provincial level. After several discussions with
development practitioners as well as research fellows of policy institutes like the Centre for
Policy Alternatives (CPA), the International Centre for Ethnic Studies (ICES) and the South
Asia Institute (SAI) 15 I developed the broad question of what the ongoing peace process
meant for local entrepreneurs in the Jaffna peninsula. According to many newspaper articles,
as well as the research fellows’ estimations, local entrepreneurs were facing considerable
changes due to the re-opening of the A9 highway and the relaxation of import restrictions,
which made it seem an interesting topic to me.
At the end of August I participated in a three days workshop in Beruwela in the South of the
country in which representatives of several Chambers of Commerce, from different parts of
the country, met. 16 At this workshop I got to know the Secretary of the Chamber of
Commerce and Industries of Yarlpanam 17 (CCIY) who considerably eased my access to the
local business community in the Jaffna peninsula. I had several opportunities to talk with
him about the situation of local entrepreneurs in the peninsula and to discuss the possibilities
of carrying out research there. He also put me into contact with the president of the CCIY
15 The SAI is an institute of the University of Heidelberg (Germany).
16 This workshop was organized by the Enterprise Information Project, a project of the German Technical
Cooperation (GTZ), who gave me the opportunity to fully participate in it
14