13 Aug Having Fun Together: A Reflection on Conducting Research Camp Without the Camp
A child’s mind is a ball of curiosity, you may be able to engage them for a minute or an hour tops, but it gets tricky as soon as they find something more interesting. Such is the nature of researching with children. It allows you to gather the most raw information and opinion regarding anything at all. But it may also restrict the amount of depth and detail that can be obtained from their remarks. Similar dilemmas were experienced during my onsite research with pre- to early teenage girls residing in the red light district of Old Lahore, Pakistan as highlighted in my master’s thesis: 
“It was the most challenging yet the most rewarding research experience, the most pushing yet the most raw experience. Sometimes they would be moody and low on energy and I would have to build up an extra fun environment. But the thing is I couldn’t be too fun because that would get too lame for them. I had to be the perfect amount of energetic yet sober, fun yet serious, approachable yet distant, and flexible yet organized” (Anwar 2024).
Amidst such circumstances, the question that naturally came to my mind was how to strike that perfect balance in my research that would allow me to gather all the data and create a valuable and fun experience for the participants.
The answer lay in the newly found tool called Research Camp, which I stumbled upon in my LinkedIn feed. Introduced by Dan Warren, PhD, Director, Education and Youth Development at Fluent Research, Research Camp provides an immersive research experience for children away from their regular setting. An opportunity to spend quality time together, talk, react, move, and relate with one another and their surroundings, all while participating in adventurous camp activities.
While that sounded amazing on paper, I was reminded of the constraints of my research. I didn’t have the means to book a campsite but did I let that stop me? No. Instead, I replicated the camp feeling at my friend’s farmhouse in Pakistan. The purpose was to take my participants away from their usual setting and provide them with a safe and open space to spend quality time with each other. Like a field trip, they got a chance to enjoy a little break from their routines and immerse themselves in the adventures of a new space. It was all about having fun together. In doing that I uncovered the multiple layers of being that shaped my research and gave me rich insights into their lived experiences, fears, and dreams.
During the camp, I had discussion cues, focus groups, debates, and map-making activities that stimulated conversation about their experiences. In their words, “Everyone’s running here and there, this is how fun participating in research should be like.” Others commented, “Yeah it helps freshen up the mind and you get a fresh perspective on things that is easier to share.” Similarly, another participant reflected, “It’s so boring to sit in one place, instead going to new places makes the research more fun.” Such was the feedback that I got from the two research camps that I conducted.
Not only did the camps allow me to gather new insights into the relationship between one’s being and space, but they also allowed us to talk about feelings and experience vulnerability together. In the end, it was a win-win situation. Where I, as a researcher, gathered my data, and the girls as the participants created memories and moments of fun together.
(P.S.) Here’s some video I captured during the camp: Research Camp in Pakistan.
By Tehreem Anwar.