Comparative Research Design - The Politics of Water Institutional Reform in Neopatrimonial States - page 46

interesting aspects; (2) focused observation: observation that narrowed down the perspective
to problems, processes and persons considered relevant for the research question; (3) selective
observation: search for further evidence of identified types of processes and behavior (Schöne
2003: [8 10]; Flick 1995: 157f).
I used participant observation mainly in the local case studies (see below). Short term ob
servations could be carried out without any problems and also without having to announce
them explicitly as sitting in offices and waiting for something or somebody was common and
did not evoke special attention. The fact that many observations were conducted together with
the field assistants and could be discussed afterwards increased their reliability. In Kyrgyzstan,
it was possible to attend two workshops und use them for participant observation of the inte
raction and different perceptions of water users, academics, and bureaucrats: In September
2003, the Project Implementation Unit (PIU) of the World Bank for the reform of irrigation
systems organized a scientific practical conference on “Principles and Approaches of the activ
ities of Water User Association in the Kyrgyz Republic” in Bishkek. The conference was at
tended by academics, experts from the water administration and the World Bank PIU as well
as representatives of WUAs. In October 2004, the PIU organized a training seminar for repre
sentatives of WUAs in Osh. Mainly WUA staff participated in this workshop, but also people
from the provincial water management department and from donor agencies.
Observation proved also to be very significant as a tool complementing interviews. The
actual interview situation often differed considerably from the ideals described in textbooks on
scientific methods. In addition, cultural differences in habitus and hierarchies had to be inte
grated in order to properly interpret the spoken words. Therefore, observation and protocols
of the interview situation were crucial for the analysis of the interviews afterwards. In many
interviews, especially during the first field research, I was supported by a local field assistant
that served as a “cultural translator” to evaluate interaction processes in difficult interviews or
to assist in sensitive situations especially in the WUA case studies. In many cases, I was able to
use situations that could be classified as methodical errors to gain additional insights thanks to
systematic observation used. To give an example: Often during the interviews other persons
were present or entered the room, and listened or gave comments. This certainly affected the
interviewee's answers, which could be considered a problem. However, the observation of the
interaction of these people gave useful insights into hierarchies, power relations, and different
problem perceptions. 27
Local Case Studies
In each country one in depth local case study was conducted in one raion (district) where water
institutional reforms are implemented. The case studies were conducted in Kyrgyzstan in the
Sokuluk district, Chuy province, and in Tajikistan in the Aini district, Sughd (Leninabad) prov
ince. 28 The districts for the case studies were not selected based on criteria of representativity
as the objective was not to confirm or falsify certain hypotheses but rather to develop an un
27 This is also relevant when reflecting ons own position as researcher. In the hierarchical and patriarchic environment
of state water agencies and academic institutes, interview interaction was often according to what Bogner, Menz (2002:
62f) described as “interviewer as layperson”: the situation was characterized by asymmetric interaction with
monologues of the interviewee, demonstrative benevolence and paternalism. This dominating mode of interaction was
often intensified by gender aspects - an aspect, whose constructive usage in interviews was explored by Abels and
Behrens (1998: 85f). A resulting disadvantage is the low possibility to structure the interview along the manual. On the
other hand, this type of interview is very useful for theory-generating research and questions focusing on interpretative
patterns.
28 Sughd province used to be called Leninabad province before.