Studying Rural Women in West Java

Abstract

This article describes some methods used and problems encountered in a research project on "Rural Household Economies and the Role of Women" in west Java. The main typs of information the research hoped to provide included; 1) labor-utilization patterns within the household's division of labor including both income producing and housework; 2) household income, consumption, and expenditure patterns; 3) types of technology used in both income and home production work; 4) the role of women in decision making; 5) the nature and frequency of women's involvement in formal and informal institutions and relationships in society; and, 6) aspirations of rural women and barriers to their achievement. It was found that questions of norm or generalization were unsuccessful. Specific questions such as "what did you eat today?" worked better. The interval of time could not be more than 24 hours or a 30 day month elapsed before answering the questions. Recent, specific events provided the most information. Researchers lived in the village where they conducted interviews for 10 days. A system of repeated visits to the same sample allowed the occasional addition of specific questions on marital/fertility history, land use, and details of household technology. In this study a few selected cases, about 60, became representatives of norms, averages, and means.