Research design

To provide an actual solution for the community, and not only serving knowledge (Lewin, 1946), the research method of Action Research is seen as more suitable than conventional research.

‘Action Research’ is driven by the motivation of improving a current situation and is commonly used in healthcare and education. It is about practical outcomes in specific situations and, unlike conventional academic research, not to just serve knowledge. The purpose is to produce practical knowledge that is useful to people in the everyday conduct of their lives (Reason & Bradbury, 2006). This is seen as Participatory Action Research.

Action research is an ongoing process that requires planning, action, observation, and reflection.

There are many models for this type of research. In this case, the model of Kemmis & McTaggart (2007) is used because it represents the greater depth of knowledge which is achieved at each level. This model is shown in Figure 12.

Figure 12: Action Research Spiral Source: (Kemmis & McTaggart, 2007)

This means that the plan is revised through several iterations based on new observations and conclusions each time.

To answer the determined research questions a clear process needs to be followed to maintain overview. This also enables others to check the validity and traceability of the outcomes. This is shown in Figure 13.

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Figure 13: Thesis research model Own work, derived from: (Brugman & Vermeer, 2016; Kemmis & McTaggart, 2007);

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The process of this research is comparable with a product development process since it will evaluate the current product (TSP) and develop a variant. This process is divided in six phases:

1. Situation analysis 2. Strategy

3. Creation process 4. Development phase 5. Realization phase 6. Market diffusion phase

This research has been carried out until the realisation phase. The end conclusions of this thesis need to be assessed by the administration of TSP. They will decide whether to implement or not and if so, how to develop further.

The main sources for this report are Avans Kaluga, Google Scholar, the website of Spatial Agency and The World Bank. The World Bank is the biggest institution on development aid with the main objective to end poverty and has a broad research database. Spatial Agency has a vast database of leading building and space concepts and architects.

Sub question 1: Which factors are critical in constructing houses to obtain a Sustainable livelihood for the Semai community?

Type of knowledge required to answer question: descriptive Literature

The research objective Sustainable livelihood is a complex framework and needs to be proper defined and reflected to the Semai community. Literature research will give a clear definition of the term and in combination with in field experiences provide boundaries for further research.

Key words for finding literature:

 Sustainable livelihood

 Threats

 Vulnerabilities

 Orang Asli

 Semai

Sub question 2: What measures could be taken to increase participation of local inhabitants of Kg. Bt. 17 in constructing their own houses?

Type of knowledge required to answer question: prescription Literature

Key words for finding literature:

 Level of participation

 Participation indigenous people

 Community participation

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 Factors of participation Field interview

Experience has learnt that a survey for the Semai is too difficult due to illiteracy or withdrawnness of the people. Therefore, personal, face to face interviews need to be held. Following the advice of Dr. Wan, questionnaires for the Semai people are made in a format suitable for quantitative research. This requires structured interview method. In the village of Bt. 17 an interview with 23 questions has been held in Bahasa Malaysia. Each interview took about ten minutes and consists of seven dichotomous questions, seven closed multiple choice questions, seven multiple scale questions using Likert-scale (Vagias, 2006), and two open questions. The questions were carefully translated to Bahasa Malaysia and put in a mobile app. This makes gathering and processing the data easier. A copy of the questionnaire can be found in (Appendix 3).

Observation

The method of observation is chosen for the following reasons:

 The use of the research method of observation is chosen to capture behavior. People are often not aware of their own behavior.

 The research question requires a determination of the current knowledge and skills and the effectiveness of transfer. These subjects will be both asked during field interviews, but it is a phenomenon which can be difficult to self-assess.

 The respondents need to be studied in their own habitat. All project activities with the participants will take place in the village. Therefore it is obvious to gather behavior data in their own habitat.

 It is likely that respondents might describe their behavior differently than in reality.

The community of Kg. Bt. 17 is relatively remote and interaction with other Malaysians is limited. It is likely for respondents to under- or overestimate their own knowledge and skills in front of an outsider, especially a Western foreigner.

Observation of the people in Kg. 17 is specific and might not be applicable to all Semai people.

Therefore any conclusions and recommendations are specific for these villages, although with the support of literature, field and expert interviews serve as guidelines for further research. The observation method in this research will be that of Participatory Observation. I will participate in construction to form an accurate and focused picture of the behavior. In this case, undercover research is not possible since it is a closed community.

Sub question 3: How can the building-knowledge and skills be shared with the Semai people?

Type of knowledge required to answer question: prescription

Sub questions 2 and 3 are strongly related to each other. Analysing behaviour according to these questions can be done at the same time.

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First of all it is important to do background research about the Semai people. Their behavior and capabilities may be strongly related to their culture. Therefore, the method of knowledge transfer and participation is be context specific.

Field research enables focus on TSP, in particular since the output will be implemented in the same place or similar as where the data is gathered.

Literature

Key words for finding literature:

 Knowledge transfer/ sharing

 Skills transfer/ sharing

 Level of learning

 Traditional knowledge Orang Asli

 Orang Asli education Observation

As described before under Sub question 2, observation will give the opportunity to capture behavior of a specific group.

Experiments

An experiment will be conducted to test the effectiveness of an instruction manual in knowledge and skills transfer. The demand for a manual came from the TSP organization. The use of a manual could clarify the building method among the volunteers or even function as a self-build manual for the owner. Initially it would be tested for three units; one without help, one with a manual, and one with a manual and assistance. Although due to circumstances beyond the control of this research only the latter was conducted. Also, the use of the manual was assessed at a later visit to the village.

Expert interview

Literature about successful knowledge and skills sharing in this context is little, especially by the method of manuals. Therefore, an expert-interview with NGO worker Henk Meijerink is

transcripted and analysed to gain further conclusions. This interview is conducted by Eefje Hendriks and is semi-structured.

Answering the main research question and provide advisory report

Based on the conclusions drawn from the answers to the sub questions, an answer can be provided to the main research question. This results in a set of recommendations for the organization.

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