FOOD/HEALTH/ MIGRATION
C. Methods
Project Focus
This project was conducted to collect a variety of qualitative and quantitative data from participants in the Kingsbridge / Bedford Park community. The focus was to obtain information from inhabitants of the region as to why such one might experience a decrease in health within the aforementioned area. While many studies verify that the Bronx experiences relatively low social determinants of health and health outcomes, this project wished to gain from the emic perspective.
Decolonized Research
Ethnography differs from other kinds of research because it taps into lived experience of the participants. It is that experience that that qualitative data is meant to capture. But to research a community properly, certain techniques should be understood. Decolonized research techniques are valid and useful because they teach researchers to be conscious of social hierarchies and their power inequities. Even for subjects who are not indigenous people, there will still be a power dynamic which interviewers must be aware of. By acknowledging such inequities, interviewers can become better at limiting their own biases. Ranjan Datta (2017) describes decolonized research as a means to "critically examine the underlying assumptions that inform the research, and challenges the widely-accepted belief that Western methods and ways of knowing are the only objective, true science" (p.11). By challenging Western research methods, decolonized techniques encourage researchers to be increasingly empathetic and responsible.
Voluntary Sampling
The chosen method was voluntary sampling (https://www.healthknowledge.org.uk/public-health-textbook/research-methods/1a-epidemiology/methods-of-sampling-population). Due to operational limitation, there were few methods which were as appropriate as voluntary sampling. As the constructed survey is of considerable length, the rate of success in obtaining participants was quite low. Roughly ten percent of potential participants approached were willing to take part. As a result, the process was extensive and time consuming. My sample size was further limited by the project’s emphasis on the Kingsbridge / Bedford Park community. Without substantial preexisting ties to the community, volunteer sampling was necessary. As participation was significantly limited by exclusively approaching a single neighborhood in the Bronx, I could not limit participation any further.
Location Variance
Furthermore, in order to limit the possibility of sampling error, a location variance was also implemented. The design of NHANES claims that "individuals within a cluster (e.g., county, school, city or census block are more similar to one another than those in other clusters" (NHANES 2018 p.29). To account for this sampling error, multiple locations within the Kingsbridge / Bedford Park area were used to collect samples. Interview locations were changed after every five subjects. However, as the project in focused on health outlooks of a specific community, the location variance was extremely limited.
Location Variance In Practice
In order to achieve this location variance, I relocated repeatedly. Community bus stops were found to be incalculably valuable sources of participation. Potential interviewees were already in a sedentary state and often bored. As they were not already walking passed, it was easier to initiate productive conversations. When searching for participants, I rotated between bus or train stops in the area (Jerome Avenue, Bedford Park Boulevard, Sedgwick Avenue, West Kingsbridge Road). This occasionally caused issues when participants stepped onto the bus or train. In such cases when the participants would wish to leave before finishing the interview, I would depart with the subject. Once the health assessments had been completed, I'd return to my initial point. This strategy was revealed as highly valuable. When shifting locations, I strove to photograph the places I went. As a result, I photographed a variety of bus stops and their surrounding environments. All images within the "Community" section were taken while waiting for a willing participant.
Project Focus
This project was conducted to collect a variety of qualitative and quantitative data from participants in the Kingsbridge / Bedford Park community. The focus was to obtain information from inhabitants of the region as to why such one might experience a decrease in health within the aforementioned area. While many studies verify that the Bronx experiences relatively low social determinants of health and health outcomes, this project wished to gain from the emic perspective.
Decolonized Research
Ethnography differs from other kinds of research because it taps into lived experience of the participants. It is that experience that that qualitative data is meant to capture. But to research a community properly, certain techniques should be understood. Decolonized research techniques are valid and useful because they teach researchers to be conscious of social hierarchies and their power inequities. Even for subjects who are not indigenous people, there will still be a power dynamic which interviewers must be aware of. By acknowledging such inequities, interviewers can become better at limiting their own biases. Ranjan Datta (2017) describes decolonized research as a means to "critically examine the underlying assumptions that inform the research, and challenges the widely-accepted belief that Western methods and ways of knowing are the only objective, true science" (p.11). By challenging Western research methods, decolonized techniques encourage researchers to be increasingly empathetic and responsible.
Voluntary Sampling
The chosen method was voluntary sampling (https://www.healthknowledge.org.uk/public-health-textbook/research-methods/1a-epidemiology/methods-of-sampling-population). Due to operational limitation, there were few methods which were as appropriate as voluntary sampling. As the constructed survey is of considerable length, the rate of success in obtaining participants was quite low. Roughly ten percent of potential participants approached were willing to take part. As a result, the process was extensive and time consuming. My sample size was further limited by the project’s emphasis on the Kingsbridge / Bedford Park community. Without substantial preexisting ties to the community, volunteer sampling was necessary. As participation was significantly limited by exclusively approaching a single neighborhood in the Bronx, I could not limit participation any further.
Location Variance
Furthermore, in order to limit the possibility of sampling error, a location variance was also implemented. The design of NHANES claims that "individuals within a cluster (e.g., county, school, city or census block are more similar to one another than those in other clusters" (NHANES 2018 p.29). To account for this sampling error, multiple locations within the Kingsbridge / Bedford Park area were used to collect samples. Interview locations were changed after every five subjects. However, as the project in focused on health outlooks of a specific community, the location variance was extremely limited.
Location Variance In Practice
In order to achieve this location variance, I relocated repeatedly. Community bus stops were found to be incalculably valuable sources of participation. Potential interviewees were already in a sedentary state and often bored. As they were not already walking passed, it was easier to initiate productive conversations. When searching for participants, I rotated between bus or train stops in the area (Jerome Avenue, Bedford Park Boulevard, Sedgwick Avenue, West Kingsbridge Road). This occasionally caused issues when participants stepped onto the bus or train. In such cases when the participants would wish to leave before finishing the interview, I would depart with the subject. Once the health assessments had been completed, I'd return to my initial point. This strategy was revealed as highly valuable. When shifting locations, I strove to photograph the places I went. As a result, I photographed a variety of bus stops and their surrounding environments. All images within the "Community" section were taken while waiting for a willing participant.
Designing Process
Some interviewees expressed apprehension regarding their personal data. Our Data Bodies: Reclaiming Our Data" creates a counter narrative to the collection and use of personal data. In their interviews Petty and Saba's (2018), subjects exhibited "concern and frustration about the unrepresentative nature of data collected about them and how it is used" (p.6). I promised anonymity to participants and this seemed to ease tensions. Similarly, many of the survey questions which were chosen were first compared to surveys such as NHANES and the Community Health Profile. As these are validated surveys, they served to confirm the effectiveness of survey questions. After data analysis, these aforementioned health surveys will be used to make larger conclusions and further questions. Other questions, while not based off previous surveys, considered information from a variety of sources. For example, survey questions relating to the scarcity of "healthy foods" were inspired by themes and claims made by Anna Brones' "Karen Washington: It’s Not a Food Desert, It’s Food Apartheid".
English Proficiency
In practice, such a combination interview style required adaptable method. A iPad was utilized to record responses. Some participants were more comfortable with technology than others. As a result, some wished to input their responses manually. Others preferred that I input their answers as they were less comfortable with technological use or admitted to limited proficiency in English. As I did not wish to discourage those with limited English proficiency, some participants required assistance or translation. Participants claimed that my explanations of survey questions were helpful.
Qualitative Data
It is important to stress the necessity for qualitative research data pertaining to health. Only through a Bronx-centered perspective could such qualitative data be collected. In the past, researchers have utilized numbers while neglecting to extract data from those with lived experiences. The analysis of numbers can only go so far, and it does not succeed in creating holistic images. Data based community research projects which lack qualitative input are failing to incorporate a wealth of information. By integrating perspective based questions into surveys, one connects with the community in a manner which provides context. "Social and Chemical Life in Mexico City" issues a warning to researchers. In Mexico City, the leading cause of lead exposure is sourced to ceramic pots which locals claim improves the taste of food. Previous researchers understood there was lead contamination but not the cultural significance behind the artifacts. Leighton and Roberts (2018) discuss how "environment-body interactions are always relational, contingent, and constructed phenomena [which] we aim to better understand [through] the larger histories, life circumstances, and environments that shape health and inequality among working class people in Mexico City" (p.2) Only by comprehending the life experience of the interviewees could the physical data be understood.
Some interviewees expressed apprehension regarding their personal data. Our Data Bodies: Reclaiming Our Data" creates a counter narrative to the collection and use of personal data. In their interviews Petty and Saba's (2018), subjects exhibited "concern and frustration about the unrepresentative nature of data collected about them and how it is used" (p.6). I promised anonymity to participants and this seemed to ease tensions. Similarly, many of the survey questions which were chosen were first compared to surveys such as NHANES and the Community Health Profile. As these are validated surveys, they served to confirm the effectiveness of survey questions. After data analysis, these aforementioned health surveys will be used to make larger conclusions and further questions. Other questions, while not based off previous surveys, considered information from a variety of sources. For example, survey questions relating to the scarcity of "healthy foods" were inspired by themes and claims made by Anna Brones' "Karen Washington: It’s Not a Food Desert, It’s Food Apartheid".
English Proficiency
In practice, such a combination interview style required adaptable method. A iPad was utilized to record responses. Some participants were more comfortable with technology than others. As a result, some wished to input their responses manually. Others preferred that I input their answers as they were less comfortable with technological use or admitted to limited proficiency in English. As I did not wish to discourage those with limited English proficiency, some participants required assistance or translation. Participants claimed that my explanations of survey questions were helpful.
Qualitative Data
It is important to stress the necessity for qualitative research data pertaining to health. Only through a Bronx-centered perspective could such qualitative data be collected. In the past, researchers have utilized numbers while neglecting to extract data from those with lived experiences. The analysis of numbers can only go so far, and it does not succeed in creating holistic images. Data based community research projects which lack qualitative input are failing to incorporate a wealth of information. By integrating perspective based questions into surveys, one connects with the community in a manner which provides context. "Social and Chemical Life in Mexico City" issues a warning to researchers. In Mexico City, the leading cause of lead exposure is sourced to ceramic pots which locals claim improves the taste of food. Previous researchers understood there was lead contamination but not the cultural significance behind the artifacts. Leighton and Roberts (2018) discuss how "environment-body interactions are always relational, contingent, and constructed phenomena [which] we aim to better understand [through] the larger histories, life circumstances, and environments that shape health and inequality among working class people in Mexico City" (p.2) Only by comprehending the life experience of the interviewees could the physical data be understood.