18 ISA BAUD
The methodology used consists of several elements, and was based on a comparative
fieldwork approach, carried out by a multi-disciplinary team, in which staff members
from four institutions have played a part. They included economists, human geogra-
phers, planners, and an environmental scientist. Participating institutions were the
University of Amsterdam, which provided coordination as well as participation in
research, the International Institute of Environment and Development, which provided
international comparative expertise, the Centre for Economic and Social Studies,
whose staff coordinated fieldwork and analysis in Hyderabad, and the Kenya team,
with researchers from Moi University and the Institute of Social Studies (the Hague).
In order to develop a common understanding of the issues concerned, collaborative
elements were built into the research process. At each stage of the research, team
workshops were held so that a joint research framework was designed and discussed,
the methodology of fieldwork was developed by the Nairobi and Hyderabad teams,
compared and finalized, and reporting and analysis of results was done on a compar-
ative basis in joint workshops, where contrasts were brought out sharply.
This approach led to the use of a combination of different sources of data: background
literature, fieldwork for primary collection of data (through sample surveys), and a
final workshop with stakeholders for feedback on assessments of fieldwork results in
Nairobi^16. The original research design combined an analysis of socio-economic data
collected through surveys and qualitative data collected from people with strategic
knowledge, with physical and chemical analysis of soil and water samples. However,
the physical and chemical analysis was abandoned during the course of the project,
because of the extremely high costs of analysing such materials in the countries
concerned, and the limited relevance the specific enquiries were found to have in the
area of environmental health. Therefore, data on environmental aspects concerns
people’s perceptions on environmental aspects, rather than physical evidence.
In retrospect, the design of the study held important lessons for future studies in this
area. To begin with, the comparative approach brought out contrasts in the institu-
tional and organisational context, which would have been lost in a single case study.
Secondly, the joint building up of the research design led to analytical cohesion and
built up essential team spirit across regional and disciplinary divides. Finally, the use
of both qualitative and quantitative data was found to be essential in making comple-
mentary insights possible; neither can do without the other.
- The specifics of the fieldwork as carried out in each location is the subject of the Methodological
Appendix, which explains in detail how primary collection of data and analysis was done.