Handbook of Capitalisation 2012.pdf - Africa Adaptation Programme

Africa Adaptation Programme
Handbook on Capitalisation of Experiences 2012
Box 7. Some information gathering techniques
The life story is a research technique rooted in historical depth. The individual is given the
opportunity to tell his or her experience on one or more specific situations. This technique
places the witness at the centre of research. It gives him/her the opportunity to provide
information about himself/herself, his/her entourage and influences felt throughout the life
span of the project.
Semi-structured interviews give players the opportunity to tell their stories while directing the
discourse around the core issues of the study. Unlike life stories, semi-structured interviews
give more space to the person who collects information, by directing the research on a given
topic.
The focus group discussion is an interview technique that combines a number of generally
limited participants (8 to 12), selected according to criteria of homogeneity (gender, belonging
to a profession, residency, etc.). The interview focuses on a limited number of axes and the
duration of the focus group discussion is also relatively limited compared to an ordinary
interview. This technique provides an interaction framework that leads to each and everyone’s
viewpoint being submitted to the scrutiny of all participants.
Individual interview. Candidates less comfortable in a group set-up can subsequently be
interviewed individually. But individual interviews could also be conducted with resource
persons who hold specific but important information for the data collection process. In local
communities, such people include the village chief, the village extension officer, the imam or
priest, etc. But those resource persons would be chosen according to the specific theme of
the research.
Although it is necessary to obtain the maximum of information, one must be able to select
information that is directly relevant and that will be used, hence the need to be focused. All the
available information will indeed not necessarily contribute to the analysis or the identification of
lessons learnt.
To ensure the information gathering process is successful, it is important to mobilize staff; this
requires at least three conditions:
1. Awareness of the challenges of capitalisation
2. The introduction of a mechanism and an information transmission circuit (file, mailing list,
central data hosting point)
3. The existence of a system to motivate and provide incentives for people to take part in the
collection effort.
Finally, it is also important to take into account several factors, including the time available, the
area of interest covered and the level of resources available.
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