Cadres social,linguistique et climatique d’une enquête alimentaire à Dakar - Adaptation d’une chercheuse à son terrain

Abstract

The Social, Linguistic and Climatic Frameworks of a Dietary Survey in Dakar - Adaptation of a Researcher in her Field. In Africa concerning food, large quantitative surveys dominate and take precedence over the use of qualitative methodologies, only slightly developed until now. Yet the complexity of food and diet encourages the production of ethnographic studies to understand all dimensions involved. The approach taken in the framework of my thesis is both qualitative and quantitative. How can a Western female researcher, and French in particular, manage the contextual constraints of working in Dakar, an African city open to the world and symbolically charged by colonial history? Field work access is negotiated specifically by adopting the rules of greetings and self-presentation. Complicity in the kitchen creates the “in-common” and the presence of the translator makes for triangular discussions. Time management – that passes and goes on – taking into account local constraints, is necessary for the proper conduct of the survey.