Expanding Insight: The Value of Mixed Qualitative Methods in Understanding Environmental Change
This seminar explores the value of mixed qualitative methods in advancing our understanding of changing environments. It draws on in-depth ethnographic research conducted over one year from August 2018, with 22 young informal workers in Dar es Salaam and Arusha, Tanzania. The talk highlights how integrating mobile GPS tracking, life-mapping interviews, and participatory timeline diagrams captures nuanced perspectives on how informal workers navigate and respond to shifts in social, cultural, economic, and physical environments. Annotated GPS maps provided detailed insights into vendors’ daily spatial movements while life-mapping interviews and participatory timeline diagrams illuminated connections between the past, present, and future in young people’s lives and livelihoods in relation to broader socio-cultural and environmental dynamics. The findings demonstrate how mixed qualitative methods can deepen our understanding of changing environments and highlight the adaptability and agency of young informal workers. This offers valuable insights for future research and policies aimed at supporting marginalised communities amidst increasing uncertainty.
Date:
3 December 2024, 13:00 (Tuesday, 8th week, Michaelmas 2024)
Venue:
Dyson Perrins Building, off South Parks Road OX1 3QY
Venue Details:
Desert Room, School of Geography and the Environment
Speaker:
Dr Nathan Salvidge (University of Reading)
Organising department:
Environmental Change Institute
Organiser:
Dr Avidesh Seenath (Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford)
Organiser contact email address:
avidesh.seenath@eci.ox.ac.uk
Host:
Dr Avidesh Seenath (Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford)
Part of:
ECM Brown Bag Seminar Series
Booking required?:
Not required
Audience:
Members of the University only
Editor:
Avidesh Seenath
