Research Assistant

Having a research assistant was a necessary and invaluable component of my research. In addition to needing an interpreter, it was also important to have someone who could advise me on the appropriate social and cultural protocols and expectations. Having someone with local knowledge also saved many hours, if not days, when it came to logistics. While my pilot trip to the Solomon Islands provided me with a broad familiarisation of the local infrastructure and layout of the area, it was no match for someone who had spent most of their life there. Another invaluable aspect was being able to get first hand advice on the local dangers and annoyances.

While having a research assistant was invaluable, finding one was not so straightforward. During my pilot trip I was given a contact at the Solomon Islands National University (SINU) who agreed to help me find a suitable candidate on my return to the Solomon Islands. Unfortunately, when I arrived back in the country for my second trip this contact was away and would not be back for some weeks. Instead I had to draw on the contacts I made during my pilot trip and through these I was introduced to another SINU staff member who made enquiries on my behalf amongst his students. In addition, I also mentioned that I was looking for a research assistant to all the NGOs and organisations I visited in the first week of my stay85_{. I also}

approached a local training centre that I had read about in the local newspaper which had just graduated a number of students in different fields.

85 _{While waiting to find a research assistant I started arranging and conducting interviews with}

75 My efforts yielded four candidates and after talking to them all I selected one who was a recent environmental science graduate from the University of the South Pacific. In addition to being from Guadalcanal and having good language skills (English, pijin, local dialects), this candidate also showed a strong interest in what I was doing. This person ended up acting as my research assistant for the bulk of my fieldwork. The only time he was unavailable was during the first two and a half weeks of my third trip to the Solomon Islands. He did, however, organise his own replacement for this period so that my fieldwork would not be interrupted. Prior to commencing interviews with my research assistant we spent some time discussing the research and going over the interview schedules I had prepared (see section 4.5.3.1 below). Discussions were also held around how literal I wanted the translations to be86_{. At this stage I also field-}

tested the interview process with two participants at a local market87 in order to practise working together with my research assistant and to sort out any issues with the process, content and comprehension of the interview questions.

My research assistants proved to be an enormous asset during my fieldwork. Not only did they help with my data collection and fieldwork logistics, but they also provided advice and insight into life in the Solomon Islands. Banks and Scheyvens (2014, p. 174) argue that it is important to consider what you can give back to those who assist you with your research. While I was paying my research assistants to do a job88, it was important to me that they also had the opportunity to get more from the experience than just financial remuneration. To this end my main research assistant and I often talked over the research and methodologies as a way of assisting with his own professional development and interests. Additionally, even when I had interviews that

86 _{While it did not have to be exactly word for word I was after as literal a translation as was possible.}

In particular, I emphasised the need not to omit or filter responses, instead to repeat what was said regardless of whether it seemed relevant or not. I also repeated this exercise with my second research assistant. Initially I had some issues with this second research assistant paraphrasing and even answering for the participants. By this stage of my fieldwork I understood enough pijin to broadly follow the conversation and could detect this happening. This research assistant had previously worked on other research projects in the Solomon Islands and had a preconceived view of what was required (see McLennan et al. (2014, pp. 152-155) for further discussions on the pros and cons of using a research assistant). However, after further discussions with this research assistant around what I wanted and why I wanted it done that way, things improved markedly.

87 _{These two women were from rural communities east of Honiara and had come into town for the day}

to sell their produce at the market.

88 _{I sought advice from Bishop Brown and an international NGO working in the country as to an}

acceptable rate of pay. It was important to my own personal ethics that I paid a living wage as opposed to the minimum wage.

76 did not require the services of my research assistant, such as with some government officials, I still took him along with me as a way of helping him expand his own professional networks.