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Survey Researchers and Minority Communities
Author(s) -
Weiss Carol H.
Publication year - 1977
Publication title -
journal of social issues
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.618
H-Index - 122
eISSN - 1540-4560
pISSN - 0022-4537
DOI - 10.1111/j.1540-4560.1977.tb02519.x
Subject(s) - indigenous , employability , public relations , government (linguistics) , work (physics) , interpretation (philosophy) , survey research , set (abstract data type) , psychology , political science , applied psychology , engineering , pedagogy , mechanical engineering , ecology , linguistics , philosophy , computer science , biology , programming language
Directors of 194 survey research studies that had interviewed poor people between 1967 and 1972 provided information on their experiences. Significant proportions had contacted community leaders before beginning field work, had set up community advisory committees, and/or had hired “indigenous” interviewers. All of these procedures were meant primarily to forward the purposes of the study rather than to assist members of the local communities. Survey research has not tried hard to benefit poor people by allowing community members to help shape the design and interpretation of research, upgrading the job skills and employability of indigenous interviewers, or providing referrals or other services to survey respondents. Benefit to the poor will come through sensitive design of research in ways that avoid “blaming the victim” and that see social institutions equally as susceptible to change as are the responses of the poor, and through dissemination of the results of that research to government decision‐makers.