Feinstein’s Roxani Krystalli and Kim Wilson have teamed up to post an article entitled, Consent as a Conversation: Lean Research in Vulnerable Settings, on Next Billion’s blog today.

They write:

If you’re a researcher who has spent any time in a developing country, this scene might be familiar: You have arrived at your research site, far from home. You are here to conduct a study and your bag is heavy with consent forms. You have imagined who your research participants will be and you have prepared your thoughtful questions. Halfway through the second day, you notice research participants’ answers seem pat, as though they are recited from memory. You realize: You are not the first “you” they have met. Those same people have been asked similar questions about their lives numerous times, often by people who look like you.

We know this, because we have struggled with this issue ourselves, in studies that range from inquiries into agricultural practices to banking activities, and experiences of violence in conflict to inequality closer to home. Our collective experiences across fields and disciplines prompted us to devise the lean research approach towards more rigorous, relevant, right-sized and respectful field research…Click here to read the rest of the blog.