Ground Truth: Community Research Guide

Ground Truth is Quadrant 1 of the action-learning methodology. This is where you discover real problems directly from community members through interviews, observations, and voice notes.

What is Ground Truth?

Ground Truth = Raw, unfiltered evidence of community problems

Not your assumptions
Not what you think the problem is
What community members actually experience
Documented through voice notes and observations

The Golden Rule

“Listen first, build later”

Your job is to understand the community, not to sell them your idea.

How to Conduct Community Interviews

1. Preparation

Who to Interview:

Diverse age groups (youth, adults, elderly)
Different occupations (traders, students, workers, unemployed)
Various neighborhoods (different economic levels)
Minimum 10-15 people for solid data

Questions to Ask:

“What are the biggest challenges you face daily?”
“Tell me about a time when [problem area] caused you difficulty”
“How do you currently deal with [problem]?”
“What have you tried before?”
“If you could change one thing, what would it be?“

2. During the Interview

Do: ✅ Record voice notes (mandatory)
✅ Ask open-ended questions
✅ Listen more than you talk (80/20 rule)
✅ Ask “why” multiple times to find root causes
✅ Observe body language and environment
✅ Take written notes as backup

Don’t: ❌ Lead them to your preferred answer
❌ Explain your solution during research phase
❌ Interview only friends/family
❌ Skip voice note recording
❌ Rush the conversation

3. Recording Voice Notes

Critical: Voice notes are mandatory evidence for evaluation. Without them, your team may be disqualified.

Use phone recorder or voice memo app
State date, location, interviewee role at beginning
Ask permission before recording
Upload to cloud storage (Google Drive, Dropbox)
Keep originals (don’t edit)

Detailed Voice Notes Guidelines →

Observation Methods

Beyond interviews, observe community life:

What to Observe

Daily routines and patterns
Pain points in action (e.g., waste piling up, long queues)
Workarounds people create
Environmental factors (infrastructure, resources)
Social interactions and behaviors

How to Document

Take photos/videos (with consent)
Write detailed field notes
Record location and time
Note context and circumstances

Organizing Your Data

Create Interview Summaries

For each interview:

Interviewee profile (role, age, location - keep anonymous)
Key problems mentioned
Quotes (direct words matter)
Your observations
Link to voice note

Identify Patterns

After 10-15 interviews:

What problems come up repeatedly?
Are there themes across different people?
What underlying causes appear?
What surprises did you find?

Common Mistakes

❌ Confirmation Bias - Only hearing what you want to hear
❌ Small Sample - Talking to only 2-3 people
❌ Homogenous Group - All similar backgrounds
❌ Solution Focus - Pitching ideas instead of listening
❌ Poor Documentation - No voice notes or weak notes

Quality Checklist

Before moving to Quadrant 2 (Formulate Insight), ensure you have:

✅ Voice notes from 10-15+ community members
✅ Diverse interviewee profiles
✅ Rich qualitative data with quotes
✅ Observation notes from field visits
✅ Recurring problem patterns identified
✅ Data organized and accessible

Example: Good vs. Bad Ground Truth

❌ Bad Example

“I talked to 3 of my classmates. They all said transportation is a problem. Voice notes? I forgot to record them. But I remember what they said.”

Problems: Small sample, not diverse, no evidence, no depth

✅ Good Example

“I interviewed 15 people: 5 market traders, 4 students, 3 unemployed youth, 2 elderly residents, 1 small business owner. 80% mentioned waste management challenges. Voice notes uploaded [link]. Key quote from trader: ‘Every morning I spend 30 minutes clearing garbage before I can set up my stall.’ Observed overflowing bins at 3 different markets.”

Strengths: Diverse sample, evidence provided, specific details, observations

Tools & Templates

Next Steps

Once you have solid Ground Truth data:

Document on your team page (/team/[your-team]/ground-truth)
Move to Quadrant 2: Formulate Insight to analyze patterns

Formulate Insight Guide →

Remember: Ground Truth is the foundation. If it’s weak, everything built on top will be weak. Invest time here.