Who made it and how?
The material which can be seen here, the research conception, the research itself the analysis of the content and the photos were initiated and carried out by the Pro Cserehát Association. The material which can be seen here was not made in the customary way of the sociological sampling and methodology but it is the result of joint work of a lot of people.
During the work the participatory action research method was used. The people who were interviewed by the interviewers were selected by the local Roma inhabitants who had already been in connection with the Pro Cserehát Association.
First of all it meant that the researchers making the in-depth interviews were not obliged to spend a lot of time in the field – as is customary in cases of the anthropological researches – in order to select their subjects for the interviews and to create the proper confidential atmosphere needed for making the interviews.
There is an additional importance of the activity of the local assistants – that according to the given criterions –actually the Roma assistants, who were taking part in the investigation, selected the participants with whom the interviews were made. So as a matter of fact they decided the particular circle of the persons involved in the research and with this activity they greatly contributed to the forming of the material that can be seen here.
In most cases the Roma assistants were present in the conversations so there took place not only the transference of the developed confidence but they helped in the interviewers themselves by having more knowledge about the interviewed persons.
This special form of the participatory action research is called cooperative inquire. The cooperative inquire- in many cases - constitutes the base of, or runs parallel with the so called praxis intervention type activity. The praxis intervention can be used in the sociology, and in the social work, in the health education, in the school education etc. as well. The participatory planning and action research method is used in the work of the Independent Roma News Agency (www.cicsero.net) as well.
