Dislodging Power Structures in Rural Rwanda: From ‘Disaster Tourist’ to ‘Transfer Gate’

Abstract

This chapter explores how research design may have a profound impact upon the ways in which the identity of the researcher and the utility of the research are interpreted by the local population. It compares two different field experiences in rural Rwanda. In 2004, I undertook a large-scale quantitative survey with 292 households in 24 different settings in collaboration with a team of ten Rwandan surveyors. In 2007, I engaged in in-depth qualitative research in which local research participants took up a much more active role through open-ended questions in semi-structured focus group interviews.¹ I conducted this research together with a small team of collaborators in six different imidugudu.²Both projects gathered data on the livelihoods of local peasants, their coping strategies, and their social networks. The second research phase also considered the impact of national rural policies on local-level livelihoods. I confronted particular ethical and methodological challenges during both research phases. In this chapter, I concentrate on one particular challenge, analysing how the research design channelled local perceptions of my role as a researcher and the purpose of my research project in unplanned directions.