Whenever I teach Primary Data Collection, I think of a legendary former colleague from my early teaching days.
He owned a matatu, and his crew's daily returns never added up. There were always unplanned deductions, convenience fees, ‘kamagera’ charges, ‘kanjo's lunch’ money, fewer trips, mysterious arrests.
You know, mchezo wa town.
Back then, without strict SACCO enforcement, matatu accounting was... creative.
Fed up, my colleague decided to conduct field research.
His methodology? Hide in a maize farm along the route.
Yes, really. During school holidays or weekends, he'd pack a pen and notebook, find a strategic spot in a maize farm near the main bus stop, and spend the entire day squatting among the stalks counting trips.
Trip 1... Trip 2... Trip 3...
Then he'd go home, wash off the dust, and wait.
That evening, the crew would arrive with their returns - and a completely different story.
The look on their faces when he calmly presented his data? Priceless.
To this day, when teaching observational methods, I picture him crouched in that maize field, tallying trips as safari ants crawled up his legs.
Jokes aside. 😂
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