Reflection on the Fieldwork Process

Originally, I intended to undertake two case studies involving two provinces but after much deliberation and considering the time constraints (the fieldwork was to be completed in six (6) weeks), only one case study was possible. The principal sources of people for Solomon Islands for this study were elites within the various ministries both at national and provincial level. Initial contacts, made through formal correspondences, with key informants three weeks prior to the fieldtrip, failed to illicit any responses. Furthermore, very limited information was available on line regarding the research topic; hence it was quite challenging to gain any insight on national and provincial governments’ views on the specific research questions prior to the fieldwork. Although this was the case, I was able to access a previous research paper (thesis), which focused on decentralisation, development and popular participation in the Solomon Islands. This proved to be

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helpful in preparing me for the fieldwork, especially, in terms of locating key resources and getting an insight into the kind of challenges encountered in the field.

The Malaita Provincial Government was selected as the site for my case study for the following reasons: it has the highest population in the Solomon Islands; the conflict of 1999-2003 erupted between Malaitan settlers and the indigenous people of Guadalcanal; the majority of displaced people during the ethnic crisis came from Malaita Province; it has the highest migration rate to urban areas, and is one of the fastest growing provinces in the Solomon Islands. Additionally, this province is easily accessible by sea and air, especially, given the time constraints in undertaking the fieldwork. Moreover, there has never been any study conducted in the province on decentralisation nor on the negotiation of central-local relations and this contributed immensely to my interest in exploring this area.

My initially action when I arrived in the field was to follow up on the letters and began a dialogue with key informants. This was vital as I needed to get proper permission from gatekeepers to access key informants for my research. I was able to get one formal response, while the remaining ministries either cited my letter but could not locate it or never received it. I, therefore, had to start the entire process again of negotiating my way through the frustrating and bureaucratic process of gaining permission from the heads of various government ministries at national level. This was a very time consuming process, which took at least two weeks before I commenced my interviews. While awaiting responses from the ministries, I visited the various libraries and newspaper companies as they were my key targets for gaining access to local literature not available on line and public opinion on key research questions.

My first meetings consisted of courtesy calls to each of the permanent secretaries as the gatekeepers of information. Being able to lobby support from these people, at the outset eased access to information and individual respondents. The first meeting I had with one of the ministries was quite straight forward, in that I was able to immediately meet with the head of the unit without any prior appointment. This gave me the opportunity to provide him with an overview of my research, as well as, seek his permission to access key documents and informants. I visited the next ministry (Ministry of Finance and Treasury) the same day and was advised that my research had no linkages to their mandate; therefore I should instead consult the MPGIS. Since this particular ministry was critical to my research, I was able after much explanation to

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convince a key official why it was important to engage the ministry in my study. I was granted permission to access key informants as well as documents from the ministry.

The Parliament Library was a primary target for key documents on decentralisation and the negotiations of central-local relations. Alternatively, I used the National Library but during the fieldwork period, it was undergoing major renovations which made the search for documents extremely challenging. Furthermore, I was not allowed to borrow any books from the library as I was not a member. My first attempt to access the Parliament Library was turned down as I was mistaken for a foreigner. I had to undergo a whole process of formally seeking the permission of the Clerk of Parliament to access the library. Fortunately, after complying with all the requirements, I was granted permission to use the library three weeks later. Again, I was not allowed to borrow any of the library books and photocopying or scanning articles was much more complicated than I initially thought. I was advised that I needed to obtain prior permission before I could photocopy or scan documents which unfortunately was not feasible due to time constraints15_{. Most of my time was spent manually sourcing information and quotes from library}

documents.

The Malaita Provincial Government Headquarter

15 _{It takes a while for the government to consider and formally respond to such request (could be several days or a}

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The Parliament Library

Figure 4: Data Collection Sites

After receiving the relevant formal permission at national level, I started the interviews and the data collection process with the various ministries. There were several occasions when interviews had to be rescheduled three to four times due to the tight schedules of key informants. This was not unexpected, especially, when dealing with elites but required a lot of patience. I also realised that as a student, people received me differently in contrast to my previous role as a donor representative. Now that I have nothing to offer, it was not a priority to see me, although, most expressed a willingness to do so if time permitted. Luckily, the network I had previously established through my eleven years of experience became an asset in breaking through these hurdles.

My trip to the province was delayed for a week due to the closure of the airstrip in Malaita Province because of non-payment of royalties to local landowners. Upon arrival in Malaita, I met with the Provincial Secretary who was extremely supportive of my research. While initially I intended to meet with a few ministers, as they are responsible for policy formulation at the provincial level, this was not possible as most of them reside in their respective constituencies. I was able, however, to obtain rich information from the Provincial Secretary and the Provincial Premier. I was, also, able to interview a Provincial Advisor, as I felt this was important in terms of obtaining a neutral view of what was happening in the province, as far as, decentralisation and

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the negotiations of central-local relations was concerned. I was able to get valuable insights from the interviews, as well as, gather key provincial documents.

4.6.2Overall Reflection

For me, the fieldwork experience had changed my perspective on the subject matter of this research. I was able to reflect on the complex emotional, mental and physical effects that fieldwork can have on a researcher, especially, students. The insider/outsider dichotomy became a reality during the actual fieldwork. Obviously, I was considered an insider in terms of; ethnicity, nationality, values and language, however, I was also seen as an outsider as I had no prior experience as a public servant and I was also an overseas research student. Surprisingly, all key respondents, both at national and provincial level, accepted my invitations for interviews and responded to all my questions and requests for key documents. I noted that most respondents began our discussions by asking questions that I felt sought to establish a common ground between us, for example, which province are you from, what was your previous work experience. Being an outsider, I felt it had its advantages in that some people tend to open up knowing that you are less likely to judge them. They, also, speak confidently about their views and opinions knowing that I have very limited knowledge and understanding in the field. Nonetheless, being an outsider can also be a disadvantage if it creates an environment of mistrust or suspicion between yourself and the interviewee. Keeping a positive attitude and being flexible was key when it came to moving forward, dealing with the challenges and completing the fieldwork.