1. Planning for and undertaking Community Scoping

2. http://manual.recoup.educ.cam.ac.uk 2 What is involved in community scoping? Making contact with a community and its ‘gatekeepers’ (this is a term used to describe the people in your field setting who can give you access to sites, people, information etc.) Gathering together existing information about – community resources, problems and divisions – households and individuals Gathering some limited new information about the community, its groups, households and individuals

3. http://manual.recoup.educ.cam.ac.uk 3 Other possible tasks Photographs Oral histories Descriptions Life histories Migration data Narratives of success….etc…

4. http://manual.recoup.educ.cam.ac.uk 4 ‘Gate-keepers’ in research – Who are they? – What interests do they have in giving access? – To whom can they give access? – To whom will they give access? – How do we keep them happy but also balance our research needs? – Can they give informed consent on behalf of their communities?

5. http://manual.recoup.educ.cam.ac.uk 5 Making contacts in the community Walking around and becoming slightly familiar faces Answering questions, not just asking them Seeing for yourself what you have been told about Correcting false expectations about the research Establishing identities as outsiders ready to listen, interested in local people Extending informed consent beyond the gate- keepers

6. http://manual.recoup.educ.cam.ac.uk 6 Collecting existing data at the community level Asking about – Community resources: schools, clinics, etc – Community histories: key events – Community members: main categories – Main sources of income – Resources outside the community but used by community members: secondary schools, hospitals, etc

7. http://manual.recoup.educ.cam.ac.uk 7 Data on households Household listing – Is there a reasonably reliable list held by someone (either from the community itself or in the hands of an official) – What does the national census say? – What do you need to collect yourselves From all households? From a sample of households?

8. http://manual.recoup.educ.cam.ac.uk 8 Techniques for collecting new information about households Census form Sample survey Appraisals: PRA household listing and wealth ranking, listing of households with people with disabilities (for example) Two main purposes:  to be able to describe and summarise the community  to provide a sampling frame for any special studies

9. http://manual.recoup.educ.cam.ac.uk 9 Techniques in scoping Mapping the community – Collect copies of any good maps that exist – If necessary, create a sketch map yourself – Use PRA mapping methods: Help people map their own neighbourhoods (social maps) Take some transect walks with different kinds of people to ‘ground-truth’ the maps you have created REMEMBER: whose definitions, whose boundaries?