In the summer of 2019, the FFA team launched a participatory process engaging Mastercard Foundation Scholars, AUB bridging program alumni, and partner institution faculty and staff in the design of the case study research. The two case studies included in this Toolkit, which informed the Scoping Tool and Design Framework, were conducted in Lebanon on AUB’s blended bridging program for refugees (PADILEIA) and in Uganda on the pilot FFA program. This was then supplemented by data gathered through MERL (Monitoring, Evaluation, Research, Learning) Activities on FFA.
In order to ensure that all members of this group could participate in creating the Case Studies given different levels of previous experience in research methods, research staff at the University of Edinburgh facilitated a series of online research design workshops with members of the FFA team, Mastercard Foundation Scholars and PADILEIA graduates. Designed as a hands-on space in which sub-teams working on the two case studies could begin to design their research, these virtual workshops were held on a weekly basis over 5 weeks in June and July 2020 and covered the following topics: digital and qualitative research methods, research design and research strategies.
The workshops utilized online tools such as Padlet and Google Docs to allow for maximum engagement through simultaneous verbal and written contributions. Furthermore, material was not only presented by academic faculty. For example, during one session Scholar researchers presented definitions for concepts relevant to the study (such as refugee, bridging program, psychosocial, Global South, etc.) based on literature and their own experiences. One of the major outcomes of this process was the articulation of a shared research question for both case studies, the collective definition of key concepts, and enhanced capabilities among all team members to develop the case study methodology.
Simultaneously, the AUB team began holding additional weekly online meetings with the Scholars and PADILEIA graduates (referred to collectively as Scholar researchers from here on), all of whom were Syrian refugees, who constituted the PADILEIA case study team. During these meetings, Scholar researchers could reflect upon and ask questions about the case study design workshops – providing a space for additional processing and discussion in Arabic of the workshop content. Through engagement in the online workshops and the additional weekly PADILEIA case study team meetings, the team articulated its specific research sub-questions and began a process of detailing the research methodology. These weekly meetings continued throughout 2019 as an intensive research internship for the Scholar researchers, during which time detailed research methodology and data collection tools were developed.
To gauge the Scholars’ experiences in the research process and to understand how we could further enhance their involvement, we conducted two online, open-ended, reflective surveys with Scholar researchers. Written reflections shared by the Mastercard Foundation Scholars following the conclusion of the Lebanon field work and capacity building in Summer 2019 revealed some common themes about their experiences despite the diversity represented in terms of home institution, nationality, field of study, and stage of study. All of the Mastercard Foundation Scholars, even senior master’s students with significant research experience, were appreciative of the variety of research skills gained through actual practice with senior researchers in the field. Most of the Mastercard Foundation Scholars also commented on the positive and new experience of working in such a large and diverse research team. Furthermore, many Mastercard Foundation Scholars mentioned that they gained confidence in research and public speaking through their experiences.
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