Gertrudes Macueve1 GIS for District-level Administration in India: Problems and Opportunities (Walsham and Sahay 1999) Conducting Empirical Work

Gertrudes Macueve2 Why chosen? –To gain in-depth knowledge of the GIS technology that had been developed in particular; –To gain actor’s thoughts and views concerning the use of GIS; –To gain in-depth knowledge of the changing contexts within which GIS was being implemented. How was the interpretative case study carried? –By using specific methodologies, theory and methods Research Approach: Interpretative case study

Gertrudes Macueve3 Methodology: Contextualism Why chosen? –The need to study the content, context and process of GIS implementation in India. How was the Contextualism in the case study carried? –By examining in detail the action and perceptions of human actors and the context within which these actions took place. –Comparing the Indian Site and origin of the technology

Gertrudes Macueve4 Why chosen? –The researchers needed to focus on issues of process, by following up the whole process of implementation of GIS in India. How was the longitudinal methodology in the case study carried? –Collecting data over a period of 3 years as events were taking place and following the various phases of the GIS projects. –Collecting data for period prior to 1993 trough archival documents and recollections of the past. Methodology: Longitudinal

Gertrudes Macueve5 Formal interview –127 interviews; with 105 personnel of different hierarchical levels in 5 field trips; 1.5 to 2 hours; taking notes during the interview by both researchers then written up as soon as possible after the interview, often on the same day; tape recording infrequently; –Earlier stages open ended interviewing and later stages were more closely directed toward the emerging concepts and themes. System demonstrations –Conducted for the researchers benefit at all the project sites Search for archival data in the form of reports and filed documents Informal contacts with personnel outside formal interviews –Ex: with the project director at MOEF; throughout the research period; contact while researchers back to host institutions. GIS workshop (2) –Initiated by the researchers; wide range of personnel Methods _1

Gertrudes Macueve6 Research Access –Negotiated through the GIS project director in the MOEF Analysis of field data and identification and development of concepts, themes and issues –careful reading and refection on the field notes; frequent discussions between the two researchers; –Documents summarizing the field visits and emerging themes were produced after each project stage –Themes discussed between researchers and the GIS participants at various field sites and in central government agencies –No formal structured methods to identify the themes were used by researches. Methods_2

Gertrudes Macueve7 Methods_3 Feedback –Through regular contacts and through formal report; In a longitudinal research participants are often prepared to have researchers opinion on important issues. And because the researchers felt a particular moral imperative to get involved in advising on possible courses of action in a context such as Indian district-level administration. Role of the researchers –Role from independent observer to action researcher; –Terms of reference for later phase of the MOEF project drew heavily from some material produced by the researchers; –The workshop in Delhi initiated by the researchers concerned with plans for the future actions

Gertrudes Macueve8 Comments Why observations are not mentioned in the research? How was data being collected while the researchers were not in the field? As action researchers, couldn’t you contribute in advising decision makers? –Ex: to choose someone to direct the project after the MOEF’s director left?