OVERVIEW OF RAP TECHNIQUES
OBSERVATION
SEMI-STRUCTURED AND STRUCTURED OBSERVATIONS
PURPOSE
Direct observation is always relevant. On-site visual inspection may provide rapid
data on the dynamics within a population group, and of the health, nutrition ,
shelter, water, sanitation and environmental conditions, among other things. It is
used throughout a field visit, including on arrival and departure by air or road.
LINKAGES/COMPARISONS TO OTHER METHODS
Observation is naturally combined with other methods (e.g. what is seen could be
used to cross-check answers from interviews, finding from secondary sources) It
will naturally complement techniques such as transect walk/mapping.
TECHNIQUES
Guidelines for observation are necessary to ensure that data collectors are consistent in terms of what is to
be observed, and clear as to why. If different people observe the same things, it is important to standardise
observation techniques. In practice it will be useful to test checklists through a preparation exercise in which
all participants jointly observe a site and later compare their notes.
Observations can be:
 Semi-structured, the same items are observed in all sites, or
 Structured, involving counting or verifying an event at a pre-defined interval or location. An example of
structured observation is to count every 30 minutes, during a whole day, the number, age and gender of
people queuing at a particular water source or food distribution centre.
(See core content sheet "The observation plan".)
CONSIDERATIONS IN CRISIS AND UNSTABLE CONTEXTS
 As visual images are often powerful and observations are often perceived as “true”, they must be weighed
carefully for bias, based on location (centre/periphery, health centre vs. open community), gender,
culture, etc.
 Look for what is hidden. For example, sickly and malnourished children may be kept out of sight and may
be missed unless the researchers specifically ask about them.
 Both structured and semi-structured observations should involve close co-ordination among researchers
or assessment team members to ensure consistency on what is being observed and to cross-check
interpretations and explanations.
 Sketches, videos, photos can help record a wealth of data, but, especially in the context of complex
emergencies, they might not be feasible.
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INTERVIEWS AND DISCUSSIONS
INDIVIDUAL INTERVIEWS
PURPOSE
Individual interviews can be used to gather information from a range of informants: local
authorities, local humanitarian actors, the affected populations.
They can be done on a cross-section of the population to gather and compare their view
(see section on sampling), or to selected key informants to collect insights from individuals
with particular expertise on the subject.
LINKAGES/COMPARISONS TO OTHER METHODS
Compared with other interview and discussion techniques, individual interviews are more likely to provide
personal answers and therefore could be better at revealing conflicts than group interviews. Interviews
should be always used with observation. Examining the context while doing the interview can help identify
contrasting perspectives or the need for more in-depth questioning.
Interviews with key informants will focus more on realities affecting the broader community. They may use
techniques to draw out such information, for example, depending on type of expertise, timelines, seasonal
calendar.
TECHNIQUES
Semi-structured interviews use a checklist of items to be discussed, for example:
Water availability and access:
 Sources accessible (security, distance, ownership)
 Quantity available by family (seasonal variations, other variations in availability, line-ups)
 Factors affecting access for different groups (labour available and how this conflicts with other concerns,
distance, transportation and security)
CONSIDERATIONS IN CRISIS AND UNSTABLE CONTEXTS
 Fear, mistrust, trauma and panic. People could say nothing, play things down, exaggerate or lie.
Interviews are bound to have a difficult dynamic when they are carried out within a circle of armed
guards; or when people are devastated by a disaster.
 Pressure for having immediate relief is constant in a crisis setting. (see: Slim) Learning to listen and
to understand behind words in this context is fundamental.
GROUP INTERVIEWS
PURPOSE
Small discussions with 6 – 12 people who share common characteristics are more
likely to discuss sensitive issues because of their common experience. They can
convey a large amount of information in a relatively short time.
LINKAGES/COMPARISONS TO OTHER METHODS
Group interviews can encourage discussion on sensitive issues that individual
interviews could not convey; similar backgrounds will make participants relatively
more relaxed and they will often express feelings and beliefs or recount practices
that they would not convey otherwise.
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TECHNIQUES
A facilitator will raise pre-defined issues and ask the group to discuss them. Some tips:
 Be flexible and allow new and unexpected issues to be brought up and discussed
 Prevent a few individuals from dominating the discussions, have respect for every participant’s right to
speak
 Even in an emergency context, a comfortable environment with no interruptions (e.g. a closed area) is
needed
 Establish equality and trust between yourself and participants
 Record the discussion and agree on the method of doing so, e.g. blackboard, flip chart (taping could be
intrusive)
CONSIDERATIONS IN CRISIS AND UNSTABLE CONTEXTS
 Group interviews are useful to discuss questions on which there is consensus but that would not be
comfortably expressed in individual interviews (e.g. misuse of funds or resources). The solidarity of the
groups can help express otherwise sensitive issues
 They can be used to involve groups that often "do not have a voice", e.g. women and children. They are
likely to be shy with external visitors, but more talkative in groups
 They are more likely to generate consensual issues: the self-correcting mechanism of the groups means
that impressions not shared by the group are immediately corrected
INFORMAL SURVEYS
PURPOSE
Examples of informal surveys include: collecting information on family structure
among the displaced (presence of adult men, teenage caregivers with children) at
a central meeting point or water distribution point; verifying water quantity by going
to a few water sources, measuring the amount of water carried by a number of
people and asking them how many such trips they will take each day. (This could
be useful if conflicting information has been provided.)
LINKAGES/COMPARISONS TO OTHER METHODS
 A very rough source of information that serves to cross-check what is provided
in key informant or focus group interviews
 Using well-chosen key informants with cross-checking can often provide better
information more quickly
TECHNIQUES
Typically, 25 – 50 interviews will be done using purposive sampling and convenience sampling and a semistructured questionnaire, leaving interviewers free to ask additional questions whenever relevant.
(A common use of informal surveys in emergencies is to provide a rapid check on nutrition status using the
middle upper arm circumference (MUAC) measure. This is not advised because of the enormous potential
for error — both due to the lack of sampling structure and actual errors in measurement.)
CONSIDERATIONS IN CRISIS AND UNSTABLE CONTEXTS
 Useful when information needs are limited to detection of a problem or determining a very rough order of
magnitude, such as presence of unaccompanied children, for which follow-up assessment work will be
necessary. This is particularly true for very rapid surveys of an area during the acute phase of a crisis.
 Informal surveys must not be considered as a substitute for formal surveys with appropriate statistical
sampling; as quantitative data, it remains extremely limited. Informal survey results must be interpreted
and used with great care, especially true for external relations where careful comment on methodological
limitations might not be absorbed and repeated correctly.
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RANKING AND SCORING
RANKING AND SCORING
PURPOSE
Ranking and scoring methods are used to identify priorities or preferences, as well
as the criteria used by the respondent in order to place them. Wealth ranking is
used to investigate perceptions of wealth differences in a community (e.g. the
poorest, the middle, the richest).
Ranking implies select priorities (the best, the second best…), while in scoring
exercises, participants are asked to give a score (e.g. marks out of 100) to different
options. In practice, the two methods can be combined (as shown in the examples
in the "techniques" section below.
LINKAGES/COMPARISONS TO OTHER METHODS
 Ranking and scoring are useful tools during interviews, group meetings, etc.
 Conversely, they can be used on their own, perhaps leading to more direct
questions ("Why is problem x more serious than problem y?")
TECHNIQUES
PRIORITY RANKING:
1. Identify an issue (e.g. problems of water collection)
2. List possible reasons/alternatives, perhaps pointed out by people in a short preliminary discussion (e.g.,
reasons: distance, queuing time, security at taps)
3. Ask participants to rank the problems:
What is the biggest problem when collecting water? The second biggest? The third? The smallest?
4. Analyse results
 Comparing total scores identifies the most important problem of the group as a whole (in this case:
small containers)
 The analysis of the table can help identify particular concerns for some individuals: e.g. why security
is an important issue for A and E?
Example: Respondents priority ranking of problems in water collection
Problem
Distance to source
Queuing time
Small containers
Lack of storage
Steep hill
Security at taps
Respondents’ ranking (6=most important, 1=least important)
A
B
C
D
4
3
2
5
3
4
3
2
5
6
5
6
2
5
6
4
1
2
4
1
6
1
1
3
E
2
3
4
6
1
5
Total score
16
15
26
23
9
16
MATRIX RANKING
Allows analysis of a range of options according to objective criteria:


Comparisons: e.g. different food security constraints (seeds, tools, labour, rains, pests, security) can be
ranked according to whether they were more or less problematic before or after a crisis situation
Choices among different options according to a range of pre-established criteria (e.g. choosing a site for
a health centre).
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The ranking is done along two axes: one displaying the options (e.g. in the example of site selection, the
different sites) and one with the different criteria (e.g. proximity to school, central location, good road access,
space available, state of repair of building). A common scale is then used to rate each site and each
criterion (e.g. from very good to very bad). In analysing the results, criteria can be weighted according to their
relative importance.
Example: matrix ranking of potential sites for health centre 'X'
Criteria
Central location
Proximity to school
Road access
[…]
Site A
Very good
Good
Very bad
Site B
Good
Good
Bad
Site C
Bad
Good
Very good
Numeric ratings can be used. Matrix ranking can also be combined with proportional piling where
participants are less comfortable with numeric ranking or have difficulty with structured scales.
For more refined analysis, the criteria could be weighted (e.g. before summing them up, their relative
importance could be acknowledged by multiplying them for a weighting factor).
PROPORTIONAL PILING
This is a visual form of estimating proportions. One hundred beans, sticks, or the locally current form of
counters is used. Interviewees can be asked, for example, to show the distribution between women with
husbands (married or not) and women without, making piles from the 100 counters, which represent each
group. An initial answer can be used for further probing, breaking down distributions. This is most useful for
getting some sense of the population profile where no background survey exists or can be conducted, as
well as for understanding relative importance of food sources, disease prevalence, etc.
Mothers with
husbands present
Mothers with
husbands away
Mothers with no
husbands
CONSIDERATIONS IN CRISIS AND UNSTABLE CONTEXTS

In their most basic form, ranking and scoring techniques can take a few minutes with a small group of
people. Though they require repetition to draw conclusions, they can help get at least very rough orders
of magnitude and understand preferences.
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DIAGRAMMES
COMMUNITY MAPS
PURPOSE
Community maps, drawn in groups, are useful to learn about an area, and about
how different groups use it.
LINKAGES/COMPARISONS TO OTHER METHODS
Community maps can be used
 During interviews, group meetings, etc.
 To cross-check maps that might be rapidly outdated by the development of a
crisis
 With direct observation
CONSIDERATIONS IN CRISIS AND UNSTABLE CONTEXTS
 Community maps can be useful tools for assessing different perceptions of the same reality. For
example, community maps drawn by women may be quite different from those drawn by men
 Mapping can be a good orientation activity at the beginning of an assessment, particularly to establish a
spatial understanding of patterns, such as population movements, trade routes, resource distribution and
population sub-groups, and to begin to identify key issues in livelihood strategies
TRANSECT WALK
PURPOSE
A transect walk is a simple observation technique. The researcher/assessment
team member walks from one extreme of the community to the other with a local
community member as a guide to answer questions along the way about what is
observed. Information can be recorded in a transect diagram (a cross-section view
of the community) and/or can be transferred onto a geographical map.
LINKAGES/COMPARISONS TO OTHER METHODS


This can be combined with a checklist for semi-structured observation, or it can
be used for unstructured observation and probing.
It adds to observation methods, by structuring a focus on differences according
to physical context, i.e. difference between the centre and the periphery of the
community, different eco-zones and livelihood patterns, different accessibility to
key services or activities.
CONSIDERATIONS IN CRISIS AND UNSTABLE CONTEXTS


Transect walk is a very useful tool in acute phases of crisis, for example during rapid assessment visits.
Security can limit the mobility of researcher in particularly unsafe areas, and this technique may be not
applicable. Be aware of the presence of minefields.
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TIME LINES
PURPOSE
Event xxx
Crisis outset
Event yyy
Time lines are flow charts showing the sequence of different events. They can be
used to study people’s daily activity, or examine the life cycle of a programme.
LINKAGES/COMPARISONS TO OTHER METHODS

Timelines can be used during interviews, group meetings, etc.
CONSIDERATIONS IN CRISIS AND UNSTABLE CONTEXTS

It is useful to identify key events locally, which will involve identifying how and when the crisis has
affected the local area.
SEASONAL CALENDARS
PURPOSE
A seasonal calendar is usually drawn on the ground in the form of a chart, placing
months or seasons (using locally appropriate terms) along the top or bottom of the
chart and tracing the trends of interest through the year.
LINKAGES/COMPARISONS TO OTHER METHODS
 Seasonal calendars can be used during interviews, group meetings, etc.
 Ranking can be used to help build a seasonal calendar, e.g. "in what month do
you have the most work to do?" followed by questions about the type of work
CONSIDERATIONS IN CRISIS AND UNSTABLE CONTEXTS

This can be used to understand annual patterns (normal and otherwise) regarding the environment,
population movements, labour, agricultural production (hunger gaps), disease trends, access to health
services, market prices, availability of disposable income, etc. It helps to identify key issues in livelihood
strategies. This need not be repeated many times.
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