https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2735-9147
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ABSTRACT
The Syrian conflict has displaced over 1.2 million Syrians into Lebanon. As a result of displacement, some Syrian families are turning to child marriage as a coping mechanism. The prevalence of early marriage has reportedly increased and the average age of marriage decreased during the crisis. The aim of the project was to understand the underlying factors contributing to child marriage among Syrian refugees in Lebanon using Cognitive Edge’s SenseMaker®. This manuscript explores the process of implementing this novel research tool in a humanitarian setting. Twelve interviewers conducted SenseMaker® interviews with married and unmarried Syrian girls, Syrian parents, as well as married and unmarried men. Participants were asked to share a story about the lives of Syrian girls in Lebanon and to self-interpret the narratives by answering follow-up questions in relation to the story provided. Data collection occurred across three locations: Beirut, Beqaa, and Tripoli. In total 1422 narratives from 1346 unique participants were collected over 7 weeks. Data collection using SenseMaker® was efficient, capable of electronically capturing a large volume of quantitative and qualitative data. SenseMaker® limitations from a research perspective include lack of skip logic and inability to adjust font size on the iOS app. SenseMaker® was an efficient mixed methods data collection tool that was well received by participants in a refugee setting in Lebanon. The utility of SenseMaker® for research could be improved by adding skip logic and by being able to adjust font size on the iOS app.
Responsible Editor
Diana Gil-Gonzalez, University of Alicante, Spain
Responsible Editor
Diana Gil-Gonzalez, University of Alicante, Spain
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank the Sexual Violence Research Initiative and the World Bank Group for their financial support of this work and are indebted to the research participants who shared their stories and perspectives about the experiences of Syrian girls in Lebanon. We are also grateful to Ghida Anani and team members from the ABAAD Resource Center for Gender Equality in addition to the team leads (Katia Ghandoura, Clara El Warrak, and Salma Atwi) and the interviewers for their dedication and hard work. And finally, our sincerest thanks to SenseMaker® expert, Laurie Webster (QED Insight) for her management of the data and to Shaimaa Helal as well as Bernice Ho and Annie Bunting for their assistance in the preparation of this manuscript.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Ethics and consent
Study protocol was approved by the Queen’s University Health Sciences and Affiliated Teaching Hospitals Research Ethics Board.
Paper context
SenseMaker® is a mixed method data collection tool available as an app for smartphones and tablets or as a browser-based software program. SenseMaker® use in humanitarian settings or among refugee populations is not well-documented. This study examines the challenges and opportunities of using SenseMaker as a data collection tool among Syrian refugees in Lebanon. Through these reflections, recommendations for future researchers and the improvement of SenseMaker® are provided.
Additional information
Funding
Notes on contributors
Nour Bakhache
SB, CD, and SM conceived study design. SB designed study survey. NB, CD, SM, or SB conducted the pilot. SM directed field implementation and oversaw recruitment of interviewers and team leads. NB, SB, and CD designed interviewer training with SM, SB, and SG leading the training. SR, HB, and NB assisted in quality control during data collection. NB drafted initial manuscript with all authors contributed to writing. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
