1 Understanding food insecurity in rural Rwanda: how women ...

will be asked basing on what the interviewees will say (Bryman 2008, 438). 3 By using the
same interview guide everywhere, I will be able to find out what similarities and differences
exist among women from the two different types of households and from there conclusions
will be drawn about food insecurity among women in the rural households of Rwandan zones
of high food production.
The study will also include observation of women in the households that will be included in
the study to access some information that is not easily accessed in interviews. Observation
enables the researcher to be in much closer contact with people for a longer period of time.
Because of the unstructured nature of participant observation, it is more likely to uncover
unexpected topics or issues (Bryman 2008, 465-466). It is in that perspective that visits to the
women’s families will make it possible to access the information that can’t be accessed in
semi-structured interviews with them. For example, there is a policy that requires every
family in the rural areas of Rwanda to have a vegetable garden. By visiting each selected
household, I will be able to observe and find out whether they have a vegetable garden or not,
which plants are more likely to be found in the gardens, and other issues related to the garden.
More issues and realities will be revealed as I spend more time in natural settings with them
because I will observe them when they are working in their gardens and I will be able to hear
them talk to one another as they work.
5.3. Who will participate
The present study will conduct interviews with two main groups of people: the group of
women who live in households headed by a married couple, and the group of women who live
in female-headed households. The women will be selected using strategic sampling. 4 Using
women from both groups will enable me to get experiences from women with different
experiences and contexts. There will be 20 women from households headed by a married
couple and 20 women from households headed by a woman. The study will also interview
central and local government officials relevant for the study.
5.4. Where
3 In a semi-structured interview the researcher has a list of questions or fairly specific topics to be covered, often
referred to as an interview guide but the interviewee has a great deal of leeway in how to reply. The order of
questions may change and questions that are not included in the guide may be asked as the interviewer picks up
on things said by interviewees (Bryman 2008, 438)
4 The goal of strategic sampling is to sample cases/participants in a strategic way, so that those sampled are
relevant to the research questions that are being posed (Bryman 2008, 415).
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