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Chapter 15. Using A Multi-method Design and Conducting Rapid Rural Appraisals Multi-method approach to research The past six chapters described alternative research methods and their applications. Each method was described and analyzed separately. This chapter focuses on the multi-method approach to research. The second part of the chapter describes and illustrates a special way of conducting multi-method research. Called Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA), this approach has gained wide use for quickly providing information for addressing public policy issues. As the name implies, it began as a tool for research in rural areas, but the approach can be applied in any setting. The chapter concludes with consideration of ethical issues that can arise in conducting a RRA investigation. The term multi-method means just what it says. A multi-method approach uses at least two ways of measuring indicators for collecting data. Researchers use this approach whenever possible because any single measurement based on one method, no matter how well applied, has distinctive strengths and limitations. By using two or more methods to measure the same indicators, we can minimize the weaknesses of each method and benefit from their corresponding strengths. Relative strengths and limitations of different methods Table 15.1 summarizes the strengths and limitations of the most frequently used methods for collecting data. Not all methods can be used in a single study, but some combination can be used in most studies. Some ways researchers have used multi-methods of data collection are presented next. Examples of multi-method research Davidson (1992) used a multi-method of data collection in his study of livelihood strategies employed by households in the Nuba mountains of the Sudan. He began with informal interviews, a qualitative method, with elders in a number of villages in the area. Based on information gained in these interviews, he selected 12 villages that showed a variety of responses to the rapidly changing socio-economic conditions in the area. Next, he conducted a detailed survey based on 150 households in 3 of the villages. The survey was based on the usual features of a quantitative investigation. His final set of data was based on indepth, open-ended interviews with members of 20 households selected from the 150 households included in the survey. The three research methods resulted in a rich blend of qualitative and quantitative data. This allowed Davidson to identify and verify the strategies used by households in coping with socio-economic changes. Strategies included various combinations of capitalistic and lineage-based modes of production and different uses of labor. Another multi-method study investigated how irritable men get during Ramadan, the month long period when Muslims fast during the day. Kadri and colleagues (2000) set out to answer this question, based on data from adult males living in Casablanca, Morocco. They knew irritability was somewhat subjective and would be difficult to |