Training Our Research Assistants

Limbe, Malawi

This morning the team worked on clarifying the interview questions for the traditional healers and local members living with HIV/AIDS. We are fortunate to have a bright group of research assistants.

This afternoon we conducted a training session for the research assistants who will interview the traditional healers. I gave a brief presentation of the intent of the study and the information we are interested in obtaining from the traditional healers. The process is to read the questions aloud in English and Chichewa and discuss clarifications and to get feedback from the group if the questions make sense to them in English and Chichewa. The process is very helpful, and it ensures as much as possible that everyone is on the same page.

In my mind traditional healers are a mysterious group, possessing a large presence in African culture. This group has not previously interviewed traditional healers, so we will learn a lot as we go along. This is the beauty of qualitative research, meaning we are looking for the stories of the people to help us answer our questions. This is a work in progress, and we will learn new information and rework your interview questions as we go along.