Community Assessment of Natural Food Sources of Vitamin A, Guidelines for an Ethnographic Protocol (International Nutrition Foundation for Developing Countries - INFDC, 1997, 141 pages): Introduction: D. Using this manual

Community Assessment of Natural Food Sources of Vitamin A, Guidelines for an Ethnographic Protocol (International Nutrition Foundation for Developing Countries - INFDC, 1997, 141 pages)

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Background and acknowledgments

Introduction

A. Users and purpose

B. Goals

C. Program benefits

D. Using this manual

Part one: The protocol

I. Context

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A. The primary and secondary questions addressed by the protocol

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1. What are the key foods (staples, fruits, vegetables, animal food, fats/oils)?

2. What are cultural beliefs about key foods?

3. What are patterns of food use?

4. How is food prepared and stored?

5. What are the signs and symptoms of vitamin A deficiency?

6. Are there other important issues?

B. Overview of design and timing

II. Steps in the protocol

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A. Site selection

B. Historical, ecological, and cultural setting for the food system

C. Field activities

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1. Key-informant interviews

2. Family food lists and selecting the key foods

3. Market survey 1 and 2

4. Constructing food system data tables

5. Structured interviews with mother-respondents

6. Research modules

D. Preparing the assessment report

Part two: Managing the project

III. Organizing

A. Personnel

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1. Qualifications and training

2. Translation

B. Administrative preparation

1. Networks and interactions

2. Facilities, equipment, and supplies

IV. How to

A. Select key-informants and conduct key-informant interviews

B. Conduct a free list of foods

1. Creating the List

2. Expanding the list through observation

3. Analyzing the free list data

C. Select key foods

D. Identify food plant and animal species

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1. Plant identifications

2. Animal identifications

E. Determine nutrient content of food

F. Select the sample of mother-respondents

G. Manage the data

Appendices

Appendix 1: Examples of research site selection

Appendix 2: Checklist of important background information

Appendix 2A: Example of background information from the Aetas of Canawan, Morong District, Philippines

Appendix 3: Some reminders about data-gathering: Do's and don'ts

Appendix 4: Notes on working with key-informants

Appendix 5: Recording and organizing fieldnotes

Appendix 6: Notes on translation from local to national languages

Appendix 7: An example of selecting key food items from Peru

Appendix 8: Vitamin A content of foot

Appendix 9: Notes on selecting the field data-gathering team

Appendix 10: Selecting representative samples

Appendix 11: Notes on the credibility of these

Appendix 12: Comments on using microcomputers

Appendix 13: Glossary

Community assessment of natural food sources of vitamin a: guidelines for an ethnographic protocol

D. Using this manual

This manual is to assist in the definition of the assessment, the organization of the protocol, the guidance of how to complete the procedures of data collection and analysis, and the preparation of the report. The

Table of Contents clearly shows how to find each of these components.

Part One describes the protocol: the questions addressed, the design and timing, and the actual steps to complete before and during the fieldwork phase. Before field work begins, the steps to complete are site selection, background research, and document review on the historical, ecological, and cultural setting for the food system. Field activities include key-informant interviews, creating family food lists, market surveys, creating food system data tables, conducting structured interviews with mother-respondents, and six research modules to define food use and cultural beliefs among the mothers. Guidance on interpreting results and preparing the assessment report is also provided here.

Part Two describes how to manage the project, and contains several sections on how to complete some of the procedures. It gives guidance on selecting personnel, providing translation, and general administration preparation. Also provided are "how to" sections needed to complete the research steps. For example, how to complete the family food list and select key foods from it for more detailed study; how to identify food plant and animal species and search for their nutrient content; and how to use a computer to manage the data.

Thirteen appendices give a variety of useful information to assist data collection, management and interpretation. Examples from the five field test sites are given in this section, and a glossary of terms is presented.

In each step, the forms for use in data collection are provided. These are on separate pages and can be copied so there are enough for each step of the protocol by members of the research team and for each respondent.

Inside the front and back covers of the manual, photographs describing the eye signs of clinical vitamin A deficiency are given in order to complete research Module 6 with mother-respondents.