This assignment was for a contract position, and as part of the hiring process required this exercise with the following directives: How would you conduct research on “young people’s perceptions and mindsets about agriculture” consciously incorporating the views of women and persons with disabilities in your research?
The goal of exercise: to appreciate and understand your research skills and experiences
Note: This exercise should, at a minimum, include your proposed data collection, analytical, and presentation/visualization tools. This exercise has been made broad to ensure you own it (i.e., define your scope, depth, context, geography, audience, etc.). In addition, some guidelines have been provided; however, you are free to use others that still address the goal of this exercise.
Proposed Guidelines
i. What will be your research approach and why?
ii. How will you implement this research approach?
iii. What will be the final output of this research? Or How will the final output of this research look?
iv. How will you disseminate this final output? (Note: you define who your audience is)
Proposed Final Output for Presentation/Submission (choose only one format)
v. A PowerPoint presentation (4-slides max) or flyer (1 paged) or a report (1-page max), etc. (Note: these are examples only, your final output could be in other formats you deem appropriate). The oral presentation will last no more than 10 minutes
I choose the option of developing a one-page proposal for my 10-minute presentation that was due in 24 hours. The content is below.
Research Approach and Why: A mixed-methods approach will be used, incorporating both quantitative and qualitative research methods. The use of mixed methods will enable me to triangulate the data collected, providing a more comprehensive understanding of the perceptions and mindsets of African young people towards agriculture 1. A quantitative approach will measure the frequency and distribution of responses across different age groups, geographic locations and more specific demographics such as gender, disability, income earned and occupation. A qualitative approach will be used to explore the experiences, attitudes, and perceptions of women and persons with disabilities 2.
Implementation of Research Approach/Methodology: The study will be conducted in three African countries, selected based on their geographic diversity, level of agricultural activity, and accessibility. Proposed countries are Ghana, Kenya and South Africa. Additionally, these countries are selected due to their large youth population and existing research suggesting youth decline in the agriculture sector 3. The sample
population will consist of African young people aged between 18 and 35 years, women, and persons with disabilities, living in rural and urban areas. The data collection methods will include focus group discussions, in-depth interviews, and surveys. To ensure inclusivity, the research team will use accessible data collection tools, such as sign language interpretation and audio recordings. The data will be analyzed using a thematic analysis for the qualitative data and descriptive and inferential statistics for the quantitative data 4. Software to be used will be Nvivo for coding the themes in the interview transcripts and SPSS used for processing
the quantitative data. Ethics to be considered is handling data appropriately according to General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) and research ethics such that data can not be directly linked with an individual or groups of people.
Expected Output: The final output of this research will be a comprehensive report presenting the findings, analysis, and recommendations. The report will include both qualitative and quantitative data, with a focus on the perceptions and mindsets of African young people towards agriculture,
incorporating the views of women and persons with disabilities. The report will also include recommendations on how to address the challenges identified, including ways to promote inclusivity and increase youth participation in the agriculture sector.
Dissemination: The report will be disseminated to various stakeholders, including policymakers, researchers, civil society organizations, and youth organizations. The report will be shared through digital platforms, such as websites and social media, and print media, such as newspapers and
magazines. The dissemination strategy will be tailored to the specific needs and preferences of each stakeholder group. In addition, the research team will organize a dissemination event in each country to share the findings with the local community and engage stakeholders in a dialogue on the way forward.
References:
- Walliman, N. 2011. Research Methods: The Basics. Routledge. Taylor &Francis Group. London and New York
- Mason. J. 2002. Qualitative Researching. Sage Publications. London, Thousand Oaks and New Delhi
- Food and Agriculture Organization. 2014. Youth and agriculture: Key challenges and concrete solutions. Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida).
- Bryman, A. 2016. Social Research Methods. 2016. Oxford University Press.