Naturalistic Data Collection in Rural Cameroon: Challenges and Ethical Issues
This study is an experience report based on two ethnographic studies on rural multilingualism, carried out in Lower Fungom, an intensely linguistically diverse, rural area in the Northwest Region of Cameroon. Rural multilingualism is still an under-researched area and to study a phenomenon with a lot of grey areas necessitates a qualitative design that gives the researcher a first-hand look; the kind that allows the subjects to be observed in a natural setting and also allows the collection of spontaneous speech data. There has been a humanitarian and political crisis pummeling through the English-speaking Regions of Cameroon since 2016. The severity of this crisis in some rural regions has sent around waves of fear, anxiety, and despair. These feelings in a consultant interfere with the collection of naturalistic data; wearing an obvious lavalier microphone and a recorder and having a video camera on a consultant while they carry about their daily activities has become difficult as this seems precarious to consultants and those around them. Collecting spontaneous speech and naturalistic observation allowed for the exploration of rural multilingualism which is still an uncharted are. Naturalistic data collection favoured a rich, vivid and detailed study but with the current crisis, audio and video recorders could paint the picture of an emissary. Consultants need to be left unharmed in such situations no matter the research goals. This study reports personal, related experiences as an attempt to create awareness on the researchers' impact and their responsibilities towards their consultants especially when this area is rural and many are not used to the presence of research instruments such as large tripod supported video recorders.
