Research Apprentice Shares Field Experiences at SDRC
Working in environments that are not conducive for data gathering, dealing with local groups who speak in native dialects, and observing how research can be done through sign language—these were among the learning experiences shared by SDRC research apprentice Crisanto Regadio, Jr. as he spoke before faculty and researchers on September 24, 2015 at the Faculty Center Conference Room. Co-sponsored by the Research and Innovation Office of the College of Liberal Arts, the session entitled “Harnessing Knowledge and Innovation in Fieldwork” covered lessons from data gathering and documentation events during Mr. Regadio’s participation as a team member of the projects “Women with Disability taking Action on Reproductive and sexual health (W-DARE)”, “From the Margins to the Mainstream of Society: Transforming the Lives of Workers with Exceptionality, their Co-workers, Business, Corporate Practices, Policies and the Workplace,” “Baseline Study and Formative Assessment of Holcim Philippines’ Fostering A Child’s Education (FACE) Project,” and “Communication Analysis of Maternal and Neonatal Health with Emphasis on the Role of Community Health Teams in Facilitating the Adoption of Positive Behaviors in the Context of Conflict and Rapid Urbanization in Selected LGUs in Mindanao and Quezon City.
Issues encountered by Mr. Regadio while he was a member of various research teams at the Center included inclusive research and the researcher’s competence, archetypal expectations vs. realities in the field, social networks and social capital, the role of technological advancement and ICT, respondents’ typology, language, and the time and availability of resources. The need for validation of research findings was also discussed, as well as ethical and methodological considerations in conducting studies on sensitive subjects.
Dr. Jasmin Llana, Graduate Program Coordinator of the DLSU Department of Literature and a specialist in the Ethnography of Performance Studies, served as the presentation’s discussant, pointing out the need for improvisation and contingency when conducting research in the field. She verified the difficult challenge of cultivating the insider status when working with local or special groups of respondents. She also stressed the importance of recognizing that the researcher is not the knowledge producer, but rather the co-producer in acting with people in the field. Mr. Regadio is currently completing the final requirements for a PhD in Sociology at DLSU.
