Conducting socio-anthropological fieldwork remotely: a methodological innovative in quest of trust in african context

Crisis contexts, particularly those related to security and health, seem to increasingly impose new practices on researchers in the collection of field data. Whereas anthropological or sociological fieldwork was once conducted through face-to-face interactions between the researcher and the subject, or even through the researcher’s immersion in the group being studied, the inaccessibility of field sites due to a variety of causes, has now led to new approaches facilitated by digital technology. Do remote surveys enjoy the trust of the participants? The data addressing this question were collected both in person and remotely as part of a qualitative approach. The results highlight a lack of trust on the part of both potential respondents and the researchers themselves. For the researchers, the trust issue stems from concerns about depth and the pursuit of objectivity inherent in any research that claims to be scientific. In remote data collection, there is a loss of all the nonverbal cues that are, however, a valuable resource for the qualitative researcher. On the part of respondents, the lack of trust stems from the specific nature of digital tools, which facilitate the dissemination of information and thereby expose the participants. In this context, the researcher’s verbal commitment to upholding ethical principles and maintaining the confidentiality of the collected data is not sufficient to convince them.