Ikhlaq Jacob

“One reason for the poverty of ethnographic research in this area might simply be the difficulties of access”.

All the visits I made to towns and cities over decades, people never asked whether I authored a paper or even a book (and rightly so).

They were interested in me as a individual, this was the start of the trust and genuine rapport building.

You can’t be an ‘outsider’ examining the lives of individuals as an ‘insider’.

It’s standing at the front door, detached from what is happening inside.

“I’m Not From ‘Round Here”.

Researchers by-passing the street, neighbourhood and the community assuming the participant lives in isolation, completely detached from their physical environment or lacking any meaningful human contact.

To be able to relate to people ‘straight off the bat’ with diverse groups and communities, to be able to fit in as ‘one of them’ is key as a researcher.

It’s not only engagement with individuals but a connection.

I never went A to B rather travelled through A to Z to the community centre.

Hearing stories of resilience, grit and hope which would otherwise be lost travelling only from A to B or having to use a SatNav.

Pakistani community has been explored over decades.

Visiting diverse groups and centres, places of worship, corner shops, take-aways, markets, barbers, bazaars, melas and festivals.

Visiting Halifax, Huddersfield, Leeds, Keighley, Birmingham, Manchester, London and others.

I spoke to over 800 local people, groups and diverse communities: the ‘hard to reach’ for the INCLUDE Study in Bradford and Leeds during the summers of 2024/25. Thank you everyone.
@auasresearch.bsky.social

THANK YOU to the people of Chapeltown and Harehills whom I met at cafés, chai’s, supermarkets, take-outs, playing fields, bus stops, barbers, desert shops, Bilal Centre, LGM, places of worship, cultural spaces and on the streets those who completed the questionnaire.
@auasresearch.bsky.social

Thank you to the Khidmet Centre, and to the many attendees that I spoke to over the summer also a HUGE THANKS to the Ladies Group. Reaching out to the ‘hard to reach’.

Huge thanks to Michelle and Walter from the Leeds Black Elders Association for allowing me access to the lovely ladies and gentleman across your sites.

Also to the Golden Girls at the Reginald Centre!

Thank you to the Bangladeshi Centre!

Thank you to Janet and your colleagues for allowing me to talk to your many attendees over the summer for the INCLUDE Study.

Thank you to Mr Raj and Mr Singh for allowing me access to your attendees over the summer (the food was lovely and you instantly recognised my profile picture of Casablanca!).

Thank you to Sharon from the Reginald Centre for giving me an invaluable insight into the rich culture of the local community in Chapeltown and Harehills.

Gatekeepers are an invaluable source of help I have engaged with them in Bradford, Birmingham, Keighley, Leeds, Leicester, London, Manchester, Sheffield, Slough and elsewhere for decades.

And the very many diverse groups and communities. Engagement is longitudinal.

Thank you.

Sitting at a local café striking up conversations with the locals they tell you everything you need to know about people, their life, their neighbourhood and their community.

It’s human connection and immersive.

There are many groups and communities that should be represented in research: from the majority and the minority; the ‘minority within minority’; the marginalised; the excluded and the ‘hard to reach’.

This can avoid skewing the data and sampling bias.

It’s labour intensive to recruit to research studies, refusals are high. This is exacerbated when aiming for diverse or underrepresented individuals, due to factors like language barriers or cultural mistrust.

Outreach and engagement can help to buffer this trend.

From my decades (not just 3 years) of experience of health and social research with the British South Asian and Black/Caribbean communities.

Shared decision making has always been an ethical dilemma in research yet overlooked.

(Ikhlaq Jacob)

An Ethical Dilemma:

‘Shared decision making’ from the initial phone call to the consent and on-going participation in the study.

A ‘family consent’ that often includes the family, kin members, relatives, neighbours the participant is sometimes the last person to ‘consent’ in South Asian families.

Researchers need to be aware that drawing conclusions from the ‘easy to reach’ or from the ‘typical demographics’ may not be representative of the population.

Who actually took part?

More of the Same?

Research reflects the findings of the people who take part: So the question is who is taking part? From the typical demographics and the ‘easy to reach’.

Whereas, I always looked for the very hard to reach (Ikhlaq Jacob).

I wasn’t collecting data but testimonies: their fears, resilience and disillusionment set against the backdrop of huge social upheaval.

The approach was to treat them as narrators rather than data points bringing nuance to a discourse too often dominated by statistics.

Ethnography isn’t just data it’s testimony:

My work was capturing a gritty yet deeply connected social tapestry: identity, kinship and tensions of community life among Pakistanis in Bradford.

I was looking for more than data I was looking for the testimony of the youth at a time of enormous change and tension taking place within the Pakistani community in Bradford.

I did not treat them as data points but as narrators of their own reality.

Ethnography by Ikhlaq Jacob

The power dynamics within British South Asian households often complicate Informed Consent mediated by the ‘family’ hierarchy over individual autonomy reflecting nuanced collectivist values.

Western frameworks can struggle to accommodate these nuances.

A walk into the fabric of the community in Bradford:

Walking past the hustle and bustle of the busy Market, men at the barbers are discussing last night’s football, the older women are talking about the ‘boats’, it’s lively, gritty and deeply connected.

Reaching out and making contact with the local community before the start of a new research study can help to generate interest in the study.

It’s also about connecting research with the community helping to foster trust and collaboration. (Ikhlaq Jacob)

For many British South Asians health terms can be fluid where language and words are used interchangeably.

There are many examples: ‘old’ age, weakness, obesity, frailty, fatigue or disability are context and culturally depended when used in health-related terminology.