This line of questioning – presented before a group of respondents I had just convinced to participate in my study – seriously complicated the start of my research. Naturally, I had to convince the group to participate in my interview. But now in order to do that, I also had to solve a problem created by people who had passed through this community before me and never bothered to disseminate their findings at the local level.

Another example concerns my most recent study conducted with organizational and civil society leaders in South Kivu in June 2018. I was at the Provincial Assembly, where I needed to do an interview with a provincial member of parliament  when the man asked me, “What is my part in your study? How will the answers I give you serve me? Or is all this, rather, just a way of exhausting my energy and wasting my time?” All these questions came back to the matter of “his part” in the study. I was thus first obliged to address his concerns before he would agree to address mine.

As I attempted to explain myself, I realized that there was actually a broader issue at play, and that it would not be enough to simply try to convince my respondents of my own good intentions. In fact, to them, I represented all the researchers who had passed through the area before. I had to explain myself, not only on my own behalf, but also on behalf of all the researchers who had come there before me – researchers I didn’t even know.

One lesson I came away with after these interrogations concerned the importance of researcher accountability toward the populations that participate in our research. Some researchers place little importance on delivering the results of their studies back to people in the field. For many, a return to such basics feels like too much to ask for, when in reality it is actually important for several reasons.

At present, in the absence of any measures to provide communities with the results of the research they participate in, one can already see participants displaying an attitude of reticence and/or refusal that may jeopardize the work of future researchers on the ground; some people, seeing nothing in it for themselves, may choose not to participate. Others may verbally attack the researcher. One may thus get comments like: “Munarudiya tena?” (You guys are back again?), “Muna tu chokesha na bienyu … na habi ishake,” (You’re just wearing us out with all this endless…)

Disseminating research results on the ground is therefore critical to ensuring future access to the field; it is our responsibility not only towards research participants, but also towards other researchers, who will come after us. Above all, though, this is an ethical issue, as taking the time to convey our results to participants is an expression of respect for those we spend our time with during the work of data collection. It is a way of showing our gratitude. It also creates a unique opportunity for participants and researchers to exchange viewpoints, and for the participant populations to give feedback on researchers’ interpretations of their data. Finally, sharing research findings with participants can help communities draw their own conclusions based on the results obtained, and possibly even provide them with inspiration for improving their own situations or and confronting their own challenges.

Taken as a whole, the behavior of researchers demonstrates that many do not currently place much importance on delivering the results of their studies back to those who participated in it. After the fieldwork phase, we often disregard questions of accountability toward the people who gave us their time, energy, and support during the data collection process. This lack of recognition affects respondents’ trust in researchers’ intentions, and diminishes their willingness to participate in future studies.

In May of 2015 I was in Walungu conducting a study as part of master thesis when a woman asked me the following question: “Young man, where do you go with all the stuff we tell you? Every year we get people like you parading in front of us….  All the stuff you learn from us, what do you use it for? And why don’t you show us the conclusions you draw from all these interviews you do with us?” This line of questioning – presented before a group of respondents I had just convinced to participate in my study – seriously complicated the start of my research. Naturally, I had to convince the group to participate in my interview. But now in order to do that, I also had to solve a problem created by people who had passed through this community before me and never bothered to disseminate their findings at the local level.

Another example concerns my most recent study conducted with organizational and civil society leaders in South Kivu in June 2018. I was at the Provincial Assembly, where I needed to do an interview with a provincial member of parliament  when the man asked me, “What is my part in your study? How will the answers I give you serve me? Or is all this, rather, just a way of exhausting my energy and wasting my time?” All these questions came back to the matter of “his part” in the study. I was thus first obliged to address his concerns before he would agree to address mine.

As I attempted to explain myself, I realized that there was actually a broader issue at play, and that it would not be enough to simply try to convince my respondents of my own good intentions. In fact, to them, I represented all the researchers who had passed through the area before. I had to explain myself, not only on my own behalf, but also on behalf of all the researchers who had come there before me – researchers I didn’t even know.

One lesson I came away with after these interrogations concerned the importance of researcher accountability toward the populations that participate in our research. Some researchers place little importance on delivering the results of their studies back to people in the field. For many, a return to such basics feels like too much to ask for, when in reality it is actually important for several reasons.

At present, in the absence of any measures to provide communities with the results of the research they participate in, one can already see participants displaying an attitude of reticence and/or refusal that may jeopardize the work of future researchers on the ground; some people, seeing nothing in it for themselves, may choose not to participate. Others may verbally attack the researcher. One may thus get comments like: “Munarudiya tena?” (You guys are back again?), “Muna tu chokesha na bienyu … na habi ishake,” (You’re just wearing us out with all this endless…)

Disseminating research results on the ground is therefore critical to ensuring future access to the field; it is our responsibility not only towards research participants, but also towards other researchers, who will come after us. Above all, though, this is an ethical issue, as taking the time to convey our results to participants is an expression of respect for those we spend our time with during the work of data collection. It is a way of showing our gratitude. It also creates a unique opportunity for participants and researchers to exchange viewpoints, and for the participant populations to give feedback on researchers’ interpretations of their data. Finally, sharing research findings with participants can help communities draw their own conclusions based on the results obtained, and possibly even provide them with inspiration for improving their own situations or and confronting their own challenges.