April 3rd, 2016: Dr. Aziz Douai, Associate Professor of Communication & Digital Media at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT), has delivered a guest lecture on the challenges, pitfalls and rewards that audience researchers face when carrying out fieldwork studies in the Arab world.
Introduced by Dr. Mohamed Ben Moussa, Acting Dean of the School of Communication and Media Studies at Canadian University Dubai, Dr. Douai revealed to faculty and students how recruitment strategies, timing, group dynamics, gender and cultural issues are all important considerations for researchers looking to engage the public in their data collection.
Audience recruitment is the first major challenge in the region, said Dr. Douai, due in part to the prevailing political dynamics that might raise concerns among participants about speaking freely. Being mindful of political and social situations and working to build trust is important in counteracting this obstacle he said.
Culture and related gender sensitivities could also present challenges to conducting research effectively and equitably, Dr. Douai said. In this context, he advised to carefully consider the approaches taken towards interviewing different groups, as well as the timing, location and the aptitude of the interviewees.
Dr. Douai, who, alongside his role at UOIT, is also the Founding Director of the Journalism, Media, and Cultural Studies Program at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, Qatar, concluded by discussing the importance of treating research as a conversation and empowering respondents in the process.
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