The team are working in up to four communities in each of the four cities.
In the first two years of field research, the team undertook focus groups with a range of stakeholders, interviewed over 200 city residents, developed questionnaires, and conducted a survey involving over 2,000 households. They also carried out walk-along interviews to uncover how people move around their community in their daily lives, and oral histories with migrants to gain a deeper understanding of the journey migrants have gone through to get to where they are today.
Using Q methodology, a technique that allows researchers to study people’s viewpoints in a systematic way, the team have been able to group individuals based on their attitudes and views towards the places they live. This has helped the team get an overview of the different aspirations and expectations that migrants have for their futures.
The team has also used GIS data and community participatory workshops to map each of the cities to identify the changing nature of the communities within them.
A Q sort in a community in Colombo. Using Q method allows the research team to group individuals based on their viewpoints. Image taken by Michael Collyer.
Researchers carrying out surveys in the community of Wadulla, Colombo.
ICCCAD researcher Nanzin Nasir performing a Q interview with a local participant. Image by Chris Smith.