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The RAR Method
The RAR method developed for SEARCH comprises six phases These are carried out in sequence. However, completing the last phase does not necessarily mean that a project has come to an end. As a dynamic method, RAR enables an assessment to be made of the measures taken and, if necessary corrections to be made. In addition, it is always possible to go back a stage to secure missing information, clarify open questions or correct misjudgements. RAR’s clear, modular structure enables people to use the method who have had no previous experience of using scientific procedures.
The preparation, implementation and evaluation phases for an RAR are divided into the following modules:
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Checking existing information Evaluating reports from specialists and the media |
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Accessing social groups of interest and sampling Identifying key informants whose knowledge is not just limited to what they have personally experienced; making contact with target groups at their meeting points and building networks of contacts; organising the information, sampling |
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Semi-structured interviews Key informants (‘key persons’) are interviewed to secure more information. The interviews are based on a set of guidelines |
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Structured interviews Key informants are interviewed to verify theories and assessments on the problem being dealt with. The interviews closely follow a predetermined questionnaire. |
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Focus groups Meetings with various key informants. The purpose is to gain further background information on the subject of interest and to seek solutions for previously unsolved problems |
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Reporting and data administration This module should actually be applied after every phase in order to classify information, reveal relationships and identify possible changes |
For the RAR method, adequate knowledge on a problem is more important that ‘scientific preciseness’
The RAR method enables the type, genesis and extent of a social or health problem to be determined in a short space of time and with few resources. Knowing about the different backgrounds, perceptions and interests of those affected enables intervention or prevention measures to be planned more precisely. In contrast to large empirical studies, RAR also enables information to be gained on complex phenomena that would not be possible to express in figures.
The RAR method has already been used for a long time by the Centre for Research on Drugs and Health Behaviour at the University of London as well as in studies for the World Health Organisation (WHO) and for UNAIDS, the United Nations programme against the spread of HIV and AIDS.
For SEARCH, the Trimbos Institute and the Centrum voor Verslavingsonderzoek in Utrecht in the Netherlands developed a special RAR version in cooperation with the Coordination Office for Drug-related Issues at the Landschaftsverband Westfalen-Lippe (LWL)
Weitere Informationen zu den Projekten erhalten Sie bei:
Wolfgang Rometsch
Tel.: 0251 591 4710
Fax: 0251 591 5499
E-Mail: wolfgang.rometsch@lwl.org
