Reflexive approaches to sampling, survey design and implementation: some practical examples from rural India

Abstract

Reflexivity in quantitative research is central to questioning the ways in which the data is designed, collected and interpreted. It requires the researcher to be reflexive about their knowledge, their positionality, and the bias they may bring at each stage of the research. Unfortunately, though, limited evidence exists on the use of reflexive approaches to adapt more ‘standardised’ approaches to quantitative research, such as sampling, design of survey instruments and the use of scales for measurement. Using the case of a large-scale data collection which took place in Uttar Pradesh, India, this paper demonstrates the challenges of sampling villages and selecting teachers and students as main sampling units. We further demonstrate the adaptation required with language and standard measure scales as well as how to consider enumerators as key stakeholders in the process of data collection. We argue that adaptions to standardised techniques are necessary to enhance the validity of quantitative research when working in diverse contexts.