In the fourth blog in this series, our ARISE co-researchers (John Mutinda, Lydia Akwabi, Judith Achieng, Famuel Omwaka, Daniel Obiero, and Joel Mburu) explain how they worked with participants to create and analyse governance diaries, undertaken as part of the social and governance terrain study. Supported by researchers (Caroline Kabaria, Ivy Chumo and Blessing Mberu). […]
In the third blog in our series, our ARISE co-researchers (John Mutinda, Lydia Akwabi, Judith Achieng, Famuel Omwaka, Daniel Obiero, and Joel Mburu) explain their ground-truthing exercise, undertaken as part of the social and governance terrain study. Supported by researchers (Caroline Kabaria, Ivy Chumo and Blessing Mberu). Our ground truthing exercise involved confirming and validating […]
In the second blog in this series, our co-researchers (John Mutinda, Lydia Akwabi, Judith Achieng, Famuel Omwaka, Daniel Obiero, and Joel Mburu) explain the social mapping exercise they embarked on as part of the social and governance terrain study. They were supported by researchers (Caroline Kabaria, Ivy Chumo and Blessing Mberu). The social mapping exercise […]
Our co-researchers (John Mutinda, Lydia Akwabi, Judith Achieng, Famuel Omwaka, Daniel Obiero, and Joel Mburu) talk you through their approach to community mapping and charting social and governance terrain. They were supported by researchers (Caroline Kabaria, Ivy Chumo and Blessing Mberu). This process began with community profiling, which involved community statutory and voluntary organisations identifying […]
Nicera Wanjiru (Muungano Kibera) conducts a double interview with two young people of the same age who live in Kibera informal settlement in Nairobi. How have their lives have been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic? The announcement of the first case of Covid-19 brought Kenya to a standstill. Cessation of movement, curfews, lockdowns were never […]
Kenya’s progress towards achieving Sustainable Development Goal 6 has been slow, with only 59% and 29% water and sanitation coverage, respectively (JMP, 2019). Sewered sanitation is currently available to only about 3.9 million people in 26 counties with 61% of these being within Nairobi County. 21 counties lack any systems for waste management (WASREB, 2020), […]
Involving community researchers and the broader community in the development and validation of priorities, study tools, data collection processes, data analysis, interpretation and action planning is important to the quality of the CBPR process. Consistently engaging the community in monitoring the progress of community activities and gaining their reflexive accounts of the actions ensures rigour within the research process.
Capacities (competencies and conditions)
●Awareness of trustworthiness criteria that draw on critical epistemologies
●Ability to assess and develop contextualised code of research ethics including safeguarding
●Capacity to undertake validation exercises with stakeholders and the wider community to ensure the study is relevant, accepted and supported
●Ongoing learning, quality assessment and safeguarding assessment
●Capacity to contextualise research materials that value local ways of knowing and knowledge production
●Knowledge on how to engage in and apply reflexivity, considering positionality with regard to research findings, to strengthen rigour and trustworthiness
●Ability to triangulate different sources of information to determine research priorities, approach and actions
●Rigorous research findings which draw on trustworthiness criteria
●Generalisable research processes that can enhance CBPR techniques
●Community based research that is robust and adds value to communities, policies and practices
●Community members learn research skills, gain access to resources, and find ways to legitimate their knowledge, which have previously been limited by a history of exclusionary research practices
●After the research partnership has undertaken a process of prioritisation, and before conceptualising the research, validate the priorities and incorporate additional context to increase trustworthiness in the process
●Design research analysis and interpretation procedures that involve community researchers and associated stakeholders
●Have an outsider to help increase the rigour and real and perceived validity of the research
●Conduct data interpretation sessions to discuss interpretations, add context to information collected, and facilitate a better understanding of project documentation
●Triangulate data sources and add participant checking
●Undertake co-analysis activities with co-researchers and stakeholders
●Increase the reliability of the study by developing and using a case study protocol and a chain of evidence
●Design survey and interview questions that are culturally aligned enhancing the fit of the research with the implementing context
●Identify relational and situated ethical and safeguarding concepts and approaches that best fit the specific context and the process-oriented nature of CBPR (25)
●Constructive negotiation with gatekeeping bodies such as funders and research ethics committees to increase understanding of appropriate approaches
●Engage co-researchers and community members during the research tool preparation to cover all the essential aspects of the research including safeguarding risks
Utilise quality criteria to evaluate the CBPR process – see Springett, Atkey (26) and Sandoval, Lucero (27
●Documentation on the translation and adaptation of the materials and quality assurance processes through minutes and notes on discussions and engagement within the team and with stakeholders
●Documentation of research validation processes
●Documentation of discussion during triangulation of findings
●Case studies/stories/blogs that show reflexivity processes
●Peer reviewed publications
●Audio or notes from community validation processes
●NVivo or other screenshots showing quality checking processes
●Development and use of a case study protocol and the development of a database and a chain of evidence to improve reliability of the study
*Please note that some statements are adaptations or direct quotes from the papers listed in the reference section