PLA Notes CD-ROM 1988-2001 4 Hearing AIDS for interviewing

Document begins: PLA Notes CD-ROM 1988­2001 4 Hearing AIDS for interviewing John Mitchell and Hugo Slim Introduction One clear example of this came up in a recent socio-ethnographic survey of the Upper Juba Rapid Rural Appraisal is a way of piecing Valley in Somalia1. Part of the survey was together the parts of a jigsaw to try and give aimed at understanding the land tenure system you a picture of a particular situation. of riverine farmers. Listening to people in informal interviews is a means of providing many pieces for this Initial questioning followed official. jigsaw. However, listening is difficult and informants in assuming that ownership and interviewers can often `mis-hear' and so miss rights to land were on an individual basis. important parts of the jigsaw. This mis-hearing Interviewees seemed to confirm this by happens often in informal interviews but there appearing to acknowledge their individual are ways in which improved hearing and wider rights to a particular piece of land. However, sensitivity by interviewers can lead to better the interviewers' personal observations of the understanding. Two main ways are: `ratio of people to land made them question the possibility that so many people could own · always check ...