PRA-Manual Embracing Participitation tools-only.pdf - PACA

EMBRACING PARTICIPATION IN DEVELOPMENT: Wisdom from the Field 3.73
3.2 Three stages of documentation
There are three levels at which documentation takes place during a participatory
appraisal:
1. taking field notes;
2. preparing daily reports; and
3. writing the synthesis report (for every community/site
where the appraisal was carried out, and if several communities
are covered, an overall synthesis report as well).
3.2.1 Recording field notes
Proper recording of all the discussions and the visual outputs is of crucial importance
in the documentation process. This is the basic data that can be used for
analysis and synthesis. Given the huge quantum of information and analysis
that is generated during an appraisal it is very easy to lose and forget a lot of it,
if it is not recorded immediately in the field. It is for this reason that the role of
the documentor is very important in the team. The following should be kept in
mind while recording field notes:
~ It is good to start by requesting permission from the participants
to take notes.
~ Use a small notebook for taking notes in the field.
~ If for any reason it is not possible to take notes during a
discussion, this should be done at the first opportunity
available. It is impossible to recall any discussion in full,
and important points may be lost if the recording is left for
long.
~ Record all discussion, debates and disagreements during an
analysis.
~ Record key phrases and terminology in the local language.
~ Ensure definitions of key terms used are elicited from the
participants (see box on the following page).
Part 3