Best practices for conducting fieldwork with marginalized communities

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Information Processing and Management journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/infoproman

Best practices for conducting fieldwork with marginalized communities Devendra Potnisa,⁎, Bhakti Galab a b

School of Information Sciences, University of Tennessee at Knoxville, 1345 Circle Park Dr, Suite 451, Knoxville, TN 37996, United States School of Library and Information Science, Central University of Gujarat, India

ARTICLE INFO

ABSTRACT

Keywords: Marginalized communities Vulnerabilities ICT4D Fieldwork Mobile phones Public libraries India

Fieldwork is indispensable for understanding, explaining, and predicting the role of information and communication technologies for development (ICT4D) of marginalized communities. Engaging with marginalized communities is at the heart of ICT4D fieldwork. However, vulnerabilities of marginalized communities can prevent them from participating in fieldwork. The goal of this paper is to report best practices for engaging with marginalized communities. The findings are grounded in our fieldwork that consisted of ten three-hour sessions, each including focus groups, surveys, and hands-on exercises, with 152 participants earning less than USD 2 a day, in their native language at ten rural and urban public libraries in India. We conclude that a combination of proactive planning around the vulnerabilities of marginalized communities, constant reflective monitoring of the vulnerabilities and resulting challenges during fieldwork, and appropriate responsive action to address the challenges is one of the best ways of conducting fieldwork, since it helped us manage a majority of the challenges resulting from geographic, temporal, technological, financial, educational, psychological, informational, infrastructural, social, and cultural vulnerabilities of the participants. Our organic and structured guidance in the form of lessons learned can help library and information science researchers and practitioners to customize fieldwork around the vulnerabilities of marginalized communities.

1. Introduction Fieldwork is indispensable for understanding, explaining, and predicting the role of information and communication technologies for development (ICT4D) of marginalized communities that suffer from a myriad of vulnerabilities (Du & Haines, 2017; Potnis, Adkins, Cooke & Babu, 2017). Vulnerability refers to a state in which individuals or communities can be placed at a disadvantage or hurt (Aday, 1994). ICT4D fieldwork typically involves understanding the perspective, needs, challenges, or experiences of marginalized communities for (a) designing technology solutions around their needs and vulnerabilities; (b) testing technology prototypes with these communities; (c) deploying technology solutions in these communities; (d) building information and digital literacy in these communities, equipping individuals with the skills and knowledge needed to use technology solutions; and/or (e) ethically assessing the impact of technology solutions on the social, economic, or human development of these communities (Potnis, 2014). Engaging with marginalized communities is at the heart of any ICT4D fieldwork (Du & Haines, 2017; Potnis et al., 2017). However, vulnerabilities of marginalized communities can prevent them from participating in fieldwork. Visible differences in terms

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Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: [email protected] (D. Potnis), [email protected] (B. Gala).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ipm.2019.102144 Received 1 December 2018; Received in revised form 5 September 2019; Accepted 13 October 2019 0306-4573/ © 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/BY-NC-ND/4.0/).

Please cite this article as: Devendra Potnis and Bhakti Gala, Information Processing and Management, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ipm.2019.102144

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of gender, ethnicity, skin color, age, or clothing between researchers and marginalized communities might discourage marginalized communities from trusting, communicating, or working with “outside” researchers. Communication barriers, including language differences, can worsen the problem for researchers (Potnis, 2014). If researchers are unable to address challenges resulting from vulnerabilities of the marginalized communities, it may lead to undesired outcomes, including negative consequences for marginalized communities. The research question for this study was: What is one of the best ways of conducting fieldwork with marginalized communities? We believe that being aware of, and sensitive and responsive to, the vulnerabilities of marginalized communities before, during, and after fieldwork is one of the best ways to engage with them. This research philosophy guided the best practices for conducting fieldwork with marginalized communities, which are reported in this paper. 2. Related work 2.1. Sample challenges resulting from vulnerabilities of marginalized communities Psychological, social, geographic, health, cultural, infrastructural, and technological vulnerabilities of marginalized communities can lead to a myriad of challenges during ICT4D fieldwork. For instance, the social hierarchy in rural India dictates that lower-caste communities do not mingle with upper-caste families; this social vulnerability prevented lower-caste communities from participating in the fieldwork on the use of mobile phones for maternal health (Ramachandran, Goswami & Canny, 2010). Fisher, Marcoux, Miller, Sánchez and Cunningham (2004) could not produce audio recordings of immigrant farm workers in Yakima Valley, Washington, since these workers had immigrated to the United States illegally. Technological vulnerability in the form of unreliable technological infrastructure creates several communication barriers, which are not always limited to fieldwork in developing countries. Radoll (2010) reports that in fieldwork concerning aboriginal communities in Australia, a lack of mobile towers in the remote “Outback” made communication challenging. Clearly, existing guidelines for addressing the challenges to engaging with marginalized communities during fieldwork would be useful. 2.2. Existing guidelines for addressing fieldwork challenges Past research provides guidance for conducting fieldwork with marginalized communities. Waycott et al. (2015) ask researchers to (a) provide enough support to facilitate ongoing interactions with marginalized communities, (b) manage the expectations of these communities, (c) provide encouragement without coercion for community members participating in fieldwork, and (d) respond to individual needs of study participants. Du and Haines (2017) appeal to researchers to conduct ethical research with marginalized communities with a framework of guidelines that includes (a) establishing trust, (b) respecting the communities, (c) reciprocating local norms, (d) spending time with the communities, and (e) patiently interacting with the communities. A panel of experts (Potnis et al., 2017) recommends (among other provided guidance) that researchers (a) refrain from designing research methods that involve lengthy data collection instruments, (b) likewise refrain from utilizing research protocols that could violate the privacy of study participants, (c) not rely exclusively on gatekeepers to reach out to a variety of individuals in the community being studied, and (d) employ synchronous communication tools when interpreting data provided by these communities. Sociologists like Kuriyan, Ray and Toyama (2008) warn researchers not to approach marginalized communities as a way to get “the true story,” but instead to understand their perspectives for interpreting issues and conceptualizing possible solutions. This approach implores researchers to be empathetic with study participants and the contexts in which they may use and respond to ICT while pursuing their needs. 2.2.1. Drawback of the existing guidelines Most of the useful guidance for conducting ICT4D fieldwork with marginalized communities is scattered and does not ask researchers to proactively design and implement fieldwork around the vulnerabilities of these communities. Sometimes this guidance is from the viewpoint of the researcher, at times emphasizing the researchers’ convenience rather than focusing on the communities’ vulnerabilities. Heeks (2002) proposes the existence of “concept-reality” gaps in areas such as information, technology, process, objectives and values, staffing and skills, management, and structures, but this theory analyzes and explains data collection challenges from the researcher's perspective alone. Management experts engaged in ICT4D fieldwork advocate for a committed and knowledgeable leadership as a key factor for managing such data collection challenges in ICT4D fieldwork (Krishna & Walsham, 2005). Rarely does any information science study offer any guidance for fieldwork based on their failed engagement with marginalized communities (Baumard & Starbuck, 2005). Most ICT4D studies do not provide any structured guidance for addressing fieldwork challenges. Brewer et al. (2006) advise researchers to make thorough plans but to remain flexible, collaborate with local partners, and anticipate delays in data collection due to unforeseen circumstances. But what exactly should researchers do during fieldwork to abide by these principles? Would this advice work equally well for managing disparate fieldwork components like technology infrastructure, funding, and human resources? A significant experience of conducting fieldwork or a relevant academic background is required to interpret and apply this advice in a properly nuanced manner. Guidance grounded in a Western context may not necessarily be applicable “as-is” when engaging with marginalized communities in developing countries. For instance, to effectively manage ICT4D fieldwork in developing countries, many researchers propose the application of theories and frameworks related to management information systems (MIS), which are developed in the West 2

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(Baumard & Starbuck, 2005; Potnis, 2014; Venkatesh & Sykes, 2013). However, these theories and frameworks deal with relatively predictable, stable socioeconomic conditions (Roztocki & Weistroffer, 2011); also, they often cannot be applied to undertake data collection in developing countries with less stable socioeconomic conditions. Based on these drawbacks, we infer that researchers must proactively (a) identify vulnerabilities of the marginalized communities they plan to engage with prior to the start of any fieldwork, and (b) manage the challenges resulting from these vulnerabilities during fieldwork. This approach can enable researchers to better engage with the communities during the fieldwork. The set of vulnerabilities discussed in this paper can help researchers identify vulnerabilities of the marginalized communities they plan to work with, especially if they have not engaged with the communities prior to conducting the fieldwork. 3. Our ICT4D fieldwork 3.1. Context As of 2015, India had 400 million adults without access to formal finance. Hence, the Government of India launched a financial inclusion program for providing formal financial services to these people living in poverty (Kumar & Radcliffe, 2015). As a result, over 111 million people had a bank account for the first time in their lives; however, access to finance does not necessarily ensure its maximum benefits (Mohan, Potnis & Mattoo, 2013). In 2016, State Bank of India, the largest bank in the country, reported one of the highest credit-default rates since its inception in 1955 (Antony, 2016). Financial information illiteracy, i.e., “the inability of an individual to understand how money works or how financial service providers (FSPs) manage money,” Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development (2015) is prevalent in developing countries (Mohan & Potnis, 2015). This form of illiteracy is one of the main barriers preventing people living in poverty from using financial services responsibly (Bisht & Mishra, 2016). Individuals with access to finance who have a low financial literacy may experience low confidence and discomfort with services offered by formal FSPs such as banks and credit unions (Hermes & Lensink, 2011). These individuals may eventually choose to borrow from unregulated moneylenders and pawnshops that often charge usurious interest rates of 120 to 180% annually (Mohan & Potnis, 2010). Since 2016, as part of the Digital India program, the government has been promoting the use of mobile phones and apps for finance. The government launched BHIM, a mobile app, for carrying out financial transactions as part of its efforts to build a “cashless society.” Mobile-based financial transactions would require the user to (a) be literate, (b) own and operate a mobile phone, and (c) understand and be comfortable with the financial terminology used by the financial services. However, around 200 million Indian adults, who earn less than USD 2 a day, have little or no digital or financial literacy. Financial literacy programs in developing countries educate people living in poverty on how to use their finances responsibly so that they are less likely to get into debt (Mohan, Potnis & Alter, 2013). In India, financial regulators like the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Securities and Exchange Board of India have launched “Project Financial Literacy,” an initiative in which financial education is disseminated in conjunction with banks, local government agencies, schools, and colleges via presentations, pamphlets, films, comics, and the official RBI website. These financial information literacy programs may not reach the 200 million adults with low or no digital or financial literacy, because the programs (a) are primarily operated through websites, often in English, that are not accessible or useful to individuals who are illiterate or non-English speakers, and (b) require potential users to be patrons of banks, local government agencies, schools, or colleges (Potnis, 2016). If these people living in poverty do not attain the minimum financial, information, and digital literacy needed to use mobile phones for carrying out financial transactions, they are likely to be left behind in the cashless society envisioned by the Government of India. 3.2. Goal of fieldwork In 2016, we developed a financial, information, and digital literacy toolkit to equip people living in poverty with the skills and knowledge necessary to use mobile phones to carry out financial transactions. This toolkit is based on a combination of (a) the 2015 toolkit developed and used by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development for measuring financial literacy (Gibson, McKenzie & Zia, 2014), (b) the Reference and User Service Association's Guidelines and Best Practices for financial literacy education (Raina, 2014), (c) the information literacy standards developed by the Association of College and Research Libraries (Keller, LeBeau, Malafi & Spackman, 2015), and (d) the Seven Pillars of Information Literacy (SCONUL Working Group on Information Literacy, 2011) and the I-LEARN model (Association of College & Research Libraries Standards Committee, 2000). The goal of our fieldwork conducted in 2017 was (a) to test our toolkit, and (b) to better equip the marginalized communities earning less than USD 2 a day to use mobile phones to carry out financial transactions. During our ten, three-hour sessions at ten public libraries in rural and urban Gujarat, we conducted ten focus group discussions with 152 study participants. We also collected 152 survey responses in Gujarati, the native language of the study participants. We used these interactive sessions to share the knowledge and skills needed to carry out financial transactions using mobile phones. 3.3. Choice of partnering with public libraries We decided to team up with public libraries because we wanted to (a) leverage an existing network of 155 government-funded public libraries in Gujarat, and (b) use the endorsement of these government-funded public libraries to establish the credibility of outside researchers like us among marginalized communities in different parts of the state. An additional consideration was cost, as 3

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the cost of conducting research at a particular venue is always one of the criteria for data collection (Clark & Gomez, 2011). It is free to conduct research at public libraries in India. We assessed alternative options for public meeting places, including banks, schools, and the offices of government agencies, and concluded that all these venues could create additional obstacles to engaging with people living in poverty. Thus, engaging with study participants at public libraries became a strategic choice in our fieldwork. 3.4. Procedure We sought official permission from the Direct of Public Libraries in Gujarat, who oversees and has authority over 4000 public libraries in the state, to conduct fieldwork at ten of these public libraries. The director issued us a letter of permission and forwarded it to the twelve public libraries that he had identified as potential research sites for our fieldwork. Two public libraries in rural, remote locations did not receive the letter sent by the director via the government-operated postal service. We could not reach out to these libraries via email because they did not have any official email address. We reached out to the libraries over the telephone so that we could schedule the dates of our visits and plan other relevant details. We printed promotional banners, posters, and pamphlets in Gujarati, the native language of potential study participants, with the help of local small businesses. We mailed our advertising and promotional materials to the selected public libraries using a combination of the government-operated postal service and private post. The mailings did not arrive at a few libraries located in remote, rural areas. For these instances, we deposited the materials at the nearest district headquarters library, and a librarian from the remote, rural library collected the material from there. Despite our insistence on using the advertising and promotional materials, we found out that one librarian did not use any of the material we sent in preparation for fieldwork. We experienced few unexpected obstacles to scheduling meetings at the public libraries. Some libraries did not answer our phone calls. We eventually circled back to the director and requested a new list of libraries for our fieldwork. We also leveraged our contacts in the professional network of public librarians to help us schedule several of the meetings. Fieldwork at one library could not be conducted due to ongoing building renovations. Librarians at five of the public libraries assigned to us were responsible for administering more than one library location. The attention and resources of these librarians were divided into multiple libraries, which obviously made it challenging for them to assist us during the planning phase. 3.5. Sample questions Each of our sessions with study participants consisted of focus group discussions, hands-on exercises, and survey questions. To strengthen their financial literacy, we focused on building their vocabulary of financial terms, such as “savings account,” “checking account,” “interest rate,” “simple interest,” “compound interest,” “inflation,” and “opportunity cost,” among others. We then asked participants if they ever carried out financial transactions such as opening a bank account, depositing money, withdrawing money, transferring money, checking an account balance, and applying for a loan, and encouraged them to share the relevant experiences. We used several local examples to illustrate ways to avoid and overcome financial debt. To enhance their information literacy, we conducted one-on-one, interactive surveys with illiterate and semi-literate participants for explaining and seeking their responses for aspects related to (a) identifying financial information needs, (b) planning and gathering information for carrying out financial transactions over mobile phones, (c) evaluating information, (d) managing information, (e) using information, and (f) reflecting and learning from the past experience of managing personal information. To enhance their digital literacy, we invited them to form new groups for focus group discussions where we shared and discussed technical terms such as “cost,” “coverage,” “speed,” “quality,” and “security of Wi-Fi,” “Internet,” “mobile apps,” “hyperlinks,” and “routers,” among others, using informative visuals. We asked them if they knew how to change the password of their mobile phones, search information on the Internet, and save and share information and links over mobile phones. We illustrated these operations to those who did not know them and wanted to learn them. 3.6. Data collection and analysis To design our fieldwork around the vulnerabilities of people living in poverty, we identified their vulnerabilities before our fieldwork. The existing ICT4D research helped us identify ten vulnerabilities of people living in poverty in rural and urban Gujarat – cultural, educational, financial, informational, infrastructural, psychological, social, geographic, technological, and temporal vulnerabilities. Contextual factors collected from multiple primary sources (e.g., communication with public library administrators, contacts in public libraries, and interactions with government officials) and secondary sources (e.g., annual reports of libraries and counties, local newspapers, proceedings of regional conferences, project reports, and research articles) helped us better understand the vulnerabilities of the participants. We were disheartened during fieldwork to witness vulnerabilities of study participants and took extensive notes of the ways in which their life circumstances created challenges for our fieldwork. We also noted instances of non-verbal communications between study participants and librarians during the ten sessions with study participants. We mapped the challenges experienced during fieldwork onto the ten vulnerabilities. We devised solutions to address the challenges resulting from the vulnerabilities. See Section 4 for more details. After fieldwork (i.e., after every two sessions), we periodically held meetings among team members to discuss and verify our observations and notes, along with our interpretations of the observations and notes. These discussions helped us identify and eliminate any extant biases in our interpretations. These frequent discussions with members of our research team and numerous

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interactions with third parties such as government officials, public library administrators, public librarians, and study participants, before, during, and after fieldwork created a wealth of data that serves as an empirical evidence of the utility of our fieldwork centered on the vulnerabilities of marginalized communities. Using pattern coding technique (Miles & Huberman, 1994), we developed three clusters, namely the type of vulnerability, (resulting) challenges, and (corresponding) solutions, and traced the linkages between ten vulnerabilities, twenty-five challenges that result from the vulnerabilities, and approximately fifty solutions that we devised for addressing the challenges (see Table 1). Pattern codes are inferential or explanatory labels that identify emergent themes, pulling together common data points into meaningful, parsimonious units of analysis. Typically, qualitative studies apply pattern coding for identifying patterns in data; we inform this methodological practice by drawing an interrelationship among the clusters developed using pattern coding. For instance, the set of vulnerabilities of marginalized communities, mappings of the challenges experienced by researchers during fieldwork onto each of the ten vulnerabilities, and corresponding solutions to address the challenges, provide an integrated schema of interactions among the vulnerabilities, challenges, and solutions. 4. Findings: vulnerabilities, challenges, & solutions Around 40% of 152 study participants were female. There were about 23% of participants in each of the following four age groups: 21–30 years, 31–40 years, 41–50 years, and above 50 years, and the remaining 8% of participants were in the age group of 18 to 20. Although most the study participants owned a basic mobile phone, none of them had used their device to carry out financial transactions. Nobody could afford to own a smartphone required to use mobile apps for financial transactions. This section reports (a) the vulnerabilities of the participants that we observed, (b) the resulting challenges we encountered during our fieldwork, and (c) the ways in which we managed a majority of the challenges. 4.1. Geographic vulnerability, related challenges, and solutions A majority of people living in poverty in India reside in remote, rural parts of the country. These isolated communities are likely to be cut off from or have minimum contact with the outside world, both of which are representative of their geographic vulnerability. When planning fieldwork, we concluded that it would be difficult for us to engage with thousands of such people living in poverty, especially since their remote, rural location could lead to higher transportation costs. Increased rural engagement would also require us to stay in hotels in nearby towns far away from research teams in urban areas, requiring a large sum of additional resources like funds and time commitment. The more geographically remote the marginalized communities and local libraries are located, the greater the distance and time researchers would need to invest in reaching out to them. To address these challenges, we first estimated the budget for conducting fieldwork at a rural research site based on our past research experiences in similar scenarios, limiting the scope of this fieldwork to five rural public libraries in Gujarat. To represent both urban and rural samples in our study, we made sure to conduct our study at five urban public libraries as well. We applied for external funding to support the costs associated with engaging with people living in poverty in India. One of the authors, the principal investigator of this fieldwork, designed and submitted a proposal for a research grant competition held by two international agencies. A prerequisite for consideration was a letter of support from the concerned authorities in India to demonstrate that researchers could access the selected public library research sites during fieldwork. The research award helped us manage the costs incurred while engaging with the people living in poverty. We hired a taxi service for travel to research sites located in different parts of the state; however, we proactively switched services due to “rough driving” by our taxi driver. We anticipated extensive travel on poor roads during heavy rainfalls associated with monsoon, which made certain rural areas unapproachable by road, so we had to wait for the road conditions to improve. We also carried extra tires out of concern for flat tires, a preparation which saved our time and money in more than one instance. To limit travel costs, we conducted consecutive sessions on the same day at two public libraries in tribal areas, and two urban public libraries. The roads in the remote areas were in poor condition, decreasing the rate of travel to approximately twenty miles per hour. Narrow lanes led to traffic jams in some urban areas. We walked with large banners and other advertising/promotional materials in our hands when our car could not pass through the narrow lanes leading up to libraries. Considering the traffic jams and myriad transportation issues, we gave ourselves plenty of time by reaching each research site on the night before the start of interactive focus groups and survey sessions. In one instance, our statewide travel with the help of a taxi service created an unforeseeable challenge. A librarian asked for a ride but was uncomfortable riding in a car driven by a person of a different religion, which created awkward moments and uncomfortable conversations. The taxi was covered with stickers and signs representing the driver's religious beliefs, increasing the tension. The librarian furthermore made us wait for an hour at one point so that he could perform his daily religious rituals, a delay which upset the driver. We resolved the situation as best we could by playing popular movies songs, engaging in neutral topics, and engaging in humor. The lack of transportation in certain areas also made it challenging for some participants to arrive on time. Some participants arrived late since they could not arrange transportation to reach the library. Managing this challenge was beyond our control.

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Table 1 Vulnerabilities → Challenges → Solutions. # Type of Vulnerability Challenges - Experienced by study participants from marginalized communities - Experienced by researchers during fieldwork - Life circumstances of the participants related to our fieldwork Solutions - Managing fieldwork challenges resulting from the vulnerability 1. Geographic Challenges - Isolated communities in remote, rural areas with little or no contact with outsiders - Difficulty reaching isolated communities due to road and - Lack of transportation made it difficult for participants to arrive on time traffic conditions - Libraries in downtown far away from where the people living in poverty reside at the - Higher transportation costs mean that more funds are outskirts required - People living in poverty in urban slums without a home address, making it difficult to - Stay in hotels near the remote, rural communities locate where they live via maps - Noisy research sites Solutions - We budgeted for each research site, sought external funding, and conducted multiple focus group sessions on the same day - We changed travel services as appropriate and carried extra tires for poor road conditions during monsoon, the seasonal rains in India - We limited the number of research sites to ten public libraries - We planned the schedule with time budgeted for traffic jams - We relieved religious tension between a taxi driver and a librarian 2. Temporal Challenges - Fresh drinking water once a day - Inability to conduct fieldwork during certain times of the - Weather advisories minimize outdoor activity due to temperatures above 100°F (i.e., year and certain time of the day 37.8 °C) - Lack of interest by participants when drinking water is supplied Solutions - We conducted six out of ten interactive sessions during a fifteen-day window between peak of the summer season and monsoon - We identified the optimal time period for data collection by studying local weather advisories and temperature trends in the region in the past Challenges 3. Technological - Difficulty demonstrating the use of mobile phones for - Lack of experience using mobiles to conduct financial transactions finance - Lack of electricity to charge mobiles - Detailed explanation of technical terms without using - Lack of range/signal for using mobiles technical terminology - Digital illiteracy Solutions - To alleviate fear of using mobile phones for financial transactions, we used our laptop and showed an easy-to-understand PowerPoint in Gujarati - We patiently gauged the technical level of the participants, then educated them in simple language aided by pictures and graphics - Without electricity, we used fully-charged mobile devices for demonstrations - We used a mobile Internet connection by means of a USB-based wireless modem and a Bluetooth-based mobile hotspot Challenges 4. Financial - Could not follow our original plan of giving “live - Income of less than USD 2 a day demonstrations” using devices - Cannot afford savings accounts - Lack of mobile phones/smartphones - Late arrival of participants - Low participation - Lack of money to buy umbrellas or travel to public libraries Solutions - We sponsored travel costs of participants for visiting our research sites - We used our own mobile phones for the live demonstrations Challenges 5. Educational - Inconsistent responses (due to questions being - Illiteracy, lack of formal education misunderstood) - Illiterate and semi-literate participants do not perceive libraries as useful or relevant to - Lack of interest among the participants to engage in a study them, as libraries do not meet their daily (information) needs using libraries as research sites - Fear or inhibition to visit libraries - Low participation rate (low response rate) - Discrimination by librarians who think that libraries are only for literate patrons - Illiterate and semi-literate participants are unable to fill out surveys - Incomplete surveys Solutions - We convinced librarians to engage with illiterate participants - We printed colorful banners, posters, and pamphlets with attractive pictures of local snacks and drinks - We helped the illiterate and semi-literate participants take the survey 6. Informational Challenges - Lack of awareness of financial technologies - Low or no participation in focus groups - Lack of awareness of financial services Information and financial illiteracy - Difficulty sharing views on financial services during focus groups Solutions - We empathetically explained to participants how the world of finance and financial technologies work - We encouraged participants to consider using formal financial channels in the future for a variety of additional benefits, such as lower interest rates 7. Psychological Challenges - Fear of interacting with individuals from higher socioeconomic strata - Lack of interest in participation due to unproductive - Misunderstandings or negative perceptions about the identities of researchers experiences with similar past studies - Reluctance to participate in fieldwork - Low participation rate - Suspicion, fearfulness, and negative perceptions of “outside” researchers - Unpleasant experience with similar surveys or studies

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Table 1 (continued) Solutions - Our demonstration of concepts related to financial, information, and digital literacy created instant value for a majority of participants - We clarified that we were teachers working at a university - We explained the scope and the utility of the study in a simple language - We teamed up with library janitors to spread word of the study; this word-of-mouth recruitment tactic reached the people living in poverty in their neighborhoods 8. Social Challenges - Contextual factors such as the caste system, the language barrier, and the high crime rate - Unsafe to stay overnight in the area of fieldwork in the area of fieldwork - Language barrier between researchers and participants - Focus groups with individuals of varying castes created discomfort - Participants from higher castes answered questions on - Participants from lower castes sought non-verbal consent of those from higher castes behalf of those from lower castes before speaking or sharing their views - Participants from lower castes did not express their view and opinion openly Solutions - We avoided staying overnight in remote villages for safety reasons - We asked participants of different castes to sit in the same room, and sent a clear signal that they would not be treated differently based on their caste - We communicated that the study is open for all to learn and benefit from - We designed the survey in Gujarati to cater to their needs and alleviate anxiety - We ensured equal participation from participants of different castes 9. Cultural Challenges - Gender inequality - Men making financial choices for the whole family - Men and women constrained from participating in the same focus group - More men owning or carrying mobile phones than women - Women not participating actively in focus group discussions on financial issues - Focus groups unable to generate enough discussions involving both genders Solutions - The female presence in our research team helped women study participants open up and share their experiences freely, in the presence of men - We used examples from everyday life and household chores to illustrate concepts to increase relatability for women participants 10. Infrastructural Challenges - Lack of network or electricity for demonstrations on mobile phones - No chairs to sit on - No chairs at some public libraries - No wireless network and/or electricity for providing - Women reluctant to visit public libraries without any restroom demonstrations on mobile phones Solutions - We sat (sometimes with participants) on a carpet in the absence of chairs - We avoided one public library as a research site, since it did not have any restrooms

4.2. Temporal vulnerability, related challenges, and solutions The Indian economy relies heavily on monsoon to sustain its agriculture-based economy. Farmers typically prepare their fields in advance of the rainy season, meaning that the time of year prior to monsoon is a favorable time to seek seasonal employment. Most of our study participants were daily-wage workers looking for such seasonal employment on farms. If these workers did not receive enough employment during monsoon, they might not earn enough money to meet their financial responsibilities throughout the rest of the year. These responsibilities could include feeding their children and parents. To make matters even more challenging, the dry Indian summers create water scarcity in many parts of the country, especially rural areas. The participants receive potable water at a certain time of day. If someone is absent from the water collection station at the appointed time, their family will not receive drinking water that day. These temporal vulnerabilities of the participants made it impossible for them to engage in fieldwork during specific times of year and specific times of day. To manage these temporal challenges, we initially intended to conduct our interactive sessions with the participants before seasonal temperatures rose above 100 °F (i.e., 37.8 °C). In such weather, the government typically issues a weather advisory instructing people to minimize outdoor activity from 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., a guidance which would even further discourage study participation. Unfortunately, the data collection procedure start date was delayed due to several factors, including time spent (a) navigating the Institutional Review Board process, (b) obtaining permission from the appropriate government authorities to conduct fieldwork at public libraries, and (c) coordinating with the local libraries. Some librarians suggested conducting the sessions after the end of the hot, dry summer season. We identified the optimal period for data collection by studying local weather advisories and temperature trends in the region in the last three years. Our findings led us to conduct six out of ten interactive sessions during a fifteen-day window between the peak summer season and the start of monsoon season. The monsoon brings heavy thunderstorms and rain showers to Gujarat, which would have negatively affected participation. We could not mitigate all the challenges created by the temporal vulnerabilities of the participants. Study participants at many research sites arrived late to our sessions because they had to receive their daily allocations of drinking water. Most of the residents in towns we visited could only receive drinking water during a one-hour interval each day. The narrow window of availability created a sense of urgency among participants to leave early or arrive late. As expected, daily-wage workers exhibited low interest and attendance levels at the four sessions conducted during monsoon.

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4.3. Technological vulnerability, related challenges, and solutions The use of mobile phones is challenging in remote, rural areas due to the lack of consistent mobile signals and supplies of electricity. In rural areas, we relied on mobile Internet connections using a USB-based wireless modem and/or a Bluetooth-based mobile hotspot. We showed an easy-to-understand PowerPoint in Gujarati to participants to alleviate their concerns about using mobile phones for financial transactions. We prepared for power outages by bringing one fully charged laptop and multiple fully charged mobile devices to demonstrations. These preparations proved valuable for one summer session in which no electricity was available for the entire three-hour session. Our decision of bringing along a fully charged laptop allowed us to complete the session. We could not address all challenges created by the technological vulnerability of the participants. An essential component of our fieldwork involved demonstrations using mobile phones; however, in the absence of consistent mobile phone coverage and mobile Internet, it was challenging to provide demonstrations at two rural research sites. In some instances, we were unable to offer hands-on exercises using mobile phones to carry out financial transactions, which was a critical component of our fieldwork. At one session held at a rural public library, we found that no participant had ever even seen a laptop. A grandmother attending one of our sessions pointed toward our laptop and said: “We are seeing this for the first time! One day, I will take everybody to the city to see it.” All the participants in that session requested we carry a laptop with us, if we decide to visit them again in the future. 4.4. Financial vulnerability, related challenges, and solutions Two urban public library sites were in downtowns, far away from the participants’ residences in slums. They did not have enough money to travel to the research sites. We, therefore, had to make travel arrangements for some of them, further stretching our already tight budget. We controlled costs by offering travel support to a limited number of participants. A majority of participants could not afford to own a smartphone required to receive payments made over mobile apps. Our original plan was to demonstrate financial transactions on participants’ own mobile phones, but ultimately, we used our own mobile phones for equipping the participants during fieldwork. Over 95% of participants were in debt. A 33-year old house cleaner said: “I take frequent loans from relatives or the places I work at, since my income is not enough to take care of my family of five.” One of her friends expressed the same concern: “We barely make enough money to meet our daily needs. We do not have any extra money to deposit in banks.” Several participants could not even afford to own an umbrella; as a result, they arrived almost 45 min late to one of our sessions taking place during monsoon. It was raining heavily at the time and the participants did not have umbrellas while making their way to the library. Clearly, this was an unforeseen challenge for which we could not prepare. 4.5. Educational vulnerability, related challenges, and solutions Most study participants were illiterate or semi-literate, able to sign their names alone. They had never visited a library, as libraries are perceived as places that benefit only literate patrons. We tried reshaping this perception to reduce the inhibitions of the people living in poverty to visit libraries. Unfortunately, our “out-of-the-box” approach had a few negative consequences. Some librarians were not open enough to this approach and expressed concerns about engaging with illiterate study participants. We managed the challenges created by the educational vulnerability of the participants with a combination of solutions. We convinced librarians to adopt our approach by explaining the benefits of conducting these sessions with the participants at public libraries. For instance, if public librarians equip people living in poverty to use mobile phones and apps to carry out financial transactions, the government of India might see public libraries as new allies in their efforts to build a cashless society. This new partnership with the government could lead to increased funding for public libraries. As a result, librarians were willing to advertise our fieldwork for around two weeks ahead of the proposed event in neighborhoods. We printed colorful banners, posters, and pamphlets in Gujarati with attractive pictures of popular local snacks and drinks. The promotional materials helped assuage the illiterate participants’ anxieties about entering a library. We used everyday life examples supplemented by colorful pictures and graphics when explaining literacy concepts to the illiterate and semi-literate participants. Illiteracy forces several participants to depend on literate people around them for carrying out financial transactions. A 50-year old participant engaged in unskilled manual work for daily wages complained against having English as the only official language of written communication in banks: “We have to beg others for help as we do not know how to fill in forms in English. Sometimes we end up paying (a bribe of) INR 50 [USD 0.7] to a clerk in the bank for filling in forms for us.” All the illiterate and semi-literate participants needed assistance to complete our paper-based survey questionnaire. In general, men were more literate than women, but literacy became something of a matter of ego and pride. Some male participants could sign to give their informed consent to the research, while others used a thumbprint to consent. Some participants could not answer the questions on their own or could not comprehend the meanings of the questions without assistance. We conducted one-on-one, mini sessions with them to fill out the surveys. 4.6. Informational vulnerability, related challenges, and solutions Most participants did not know about debit and credit cards and had never used ATMs or online banking. Mobile apps for banking and even the Internet in general were foreign to many participants. When asked about the Internet, a 40-year old study participant, who works as a helper at multiple households, said, “How would we know about it, madam? Our children might know about it.” 8

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During our discussion on information literacy, when we explained the utility of Google for searching information, two participants said, “We have heard of Google and our children are using it, but we were not aware of the purpose of it.” No participants were aware of any mobile financial services applications, including the government-sponsored mobile app BHIM for financial transactions. Participants lacked the understanding of relevant terminology to share their views on mobile-based financial services during the focus groups. Due to these information gaps, some of our questions about information literacy, financial literacy, and the use of technology for finance went unanswered. We took care to empathetically explain to them how the world of finance and financial technologies works. For instance, we illustrated how inflation decreases the value of their earnings and savings over a period. 4.7. Psychological vulnerability, related challenges, and solutions The recruitment of participants was challenging due to their fear of interacting with people from higher socioeconomic strata, which prohibited several of the participants from taking part in our study at public libraries. We collaborated with library janitors to spread the word about the study; this word-of-mouth recruitment tactic helped us reach the participants. Several participants were overwhelmed by the idea of visiting public libraries. One of them cried out in excitement: “I have come to the public library for the first time in my life today!” A couple of illiterate study participants also showed signs of nervousness when they stepped into a library for the first time but felt comfortable after meeting others from their slum. Some participants were not interested in participation due to unproductive experiences with similar past studies. They had completed paper-based surveys conducted by government agencies and non-government organizations, but they were never informed of the results of those surveys, and their participation in the previous surveys did not make any impact in terms of addressing their livelihood challenges. This disconnect understandably led to skepticism and disinterest in our paper-based survey. Our demonstration of concepts related to digital, information, and financial literacy created instant value for prospective participants. At the end of each of our sessions, our survey asked participants if they benefitted from our sessions. All of them responded positively. Almost all of them personally thanked us by folding their hands and a smile while leaving our sessions, thereby expressing their gratitude. We do not claim that we did everything right, but our sessions created different types of benefits for a majority of participants. Our actions such as acknowledging the role of women in managing family finances, our equal treatment to all, irrespective of gender and caste, and encouraging women to actively participate in focus groups are likely to have increased the confidence level of several female participants. We ensured that all participants learned new skills and knowledge about these concepts by demonstrating examples of basic financial operations using mobile phones and laptops. Librarians at some of our research sites stated that the general perception of libraries among community members was not very positive, which also led to the lack of interest among potential participants. We were unable to mitigate this challenge. 4.8. Social vulnerability, related challenges, and solutions A 65-year old female participant shared an experience of the members of her community, who once visited a nearby bank but were ill-treated based on their appearance. The moment they stepped into the bank, someone taunted, “Hey, look! Jhopadpatti [the slum] has arrived.” It was a painful experience for the participant and her community. We had anticipated having participants from varying levels of castes, creating an inherent risk that members of higher castes would refuse to be in the same room or be part of the conversation with members of lower castes. In compliance with the government of India's laws and policies for promoting diversity, equality, and inclusion, we asked all participants to sit in the same room, sending a clear signal that they would not be treated differently based on their caste. We clearly communicated that this study is open for all to learn from through their participation. Some participants openly revealed their caste while complaining about the disrespectful treatment given to them by people from higher castes. When participants from different castes were grouped together during focus groups, participants from lower castes were generally submissive; individuals from different castes refused to share the same sofas. Participants from lower castes sought non-verbal consent of participants from higher castes before responding to our questions, creating a huge obstacle to collecting unbiased responses from all. In some instances, participants from higher castes answered questions on behalf of the participants from lower castes. We gently prompted participants from lower castes to answer questions on their own for equal participation. In some instances, questions were asked directly of individuals from lower castes to elicit responses from them. We could not totally mitigate these challenges related to the deeply rooted caste system, practiced for thousands of years in India. We did not expect study participants to communicate with us or to complete the survey in English. A survey designed in English would risk a low response rate. The materials required for fieldwork, including the survey questionnaire, the focus group discussion prompts and questionnaire, and the recruitment posters and pamphlets, were originally prepared in English. We translated all these material into Gujarati. The translation was certified by a professor, who was familiar with various dialects of Gujarati, in the Department of Gujarati at a top-tier university in Gujarat. The translation was also approved by the Director of Public Libraries. A participant from one of these tribal areas complained about their social vulnerability: “This area has a lot of robberies. Robbers come from nearby hills and steal everything, including cattle, money, and crops. It is unsafe to keep any valuable items at home.” Due to high crime rate, people in tribal areas are at risk of losing life, family, and belongings, including money, at any time. Hence, we were advised not to travel in the evening in some of these tribal areas. We did not stay overnight in remote villages in tribal areas.

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4.9. Cultural vulnerability, related challenges, and solutions Despite the government of India's laws and policies for promoting equality for all, gender inequality is prevalent in the patriarchal society, especially in rural parts of the country. Men usually make financial decisions for the entire family even if women contribute equally to the household income. Women receive few opportunities to express their opinions openly on any subject, especially when they live with in-laws or in a large household. A 30-year old female participant had to share all of her savings with her husband when buying a house. “I had saved a lot of money on a regular basis, which I had to give away to my husband when we started building a house. I gave him INR 28,000 [USD 400].” At the beginning of a session, some men and women were perhaps reluctant to sit in the same room during our sessions at the rural public libraries, but nobody mentioned it openly. In compliance with the government of India's laws and policies for promoting equality for all, we treated men and women equally in our sessions. However, cultural practices constrained men and women from participating equally when present in the same focus group. Men were typically at the forefront and more vocal about the rationale behind their financial decision-making and their usage of mobile phones. Women would not speak much in groups with men and came up with short responses. We periodically encouraged women to share their opinions and experiences openly in front of men, which sent a strong message of equality. Some women participants found financial concepts difficult to comprehend because their husbands handle all the finance at home. We ensured that all of the participants were equally heard and respected. To engage women in our sessions, we illustrated concepts of financial literacy using examples from everyday life and housekeeping. Women participants typically perform these tasks, which assisted them in relating to the examples and in sharing their own experiences. While preparing for fieldwork, we came across a few instances of self-help groups formed by women who gained financial independence through starting small businesses. We weaved such stories into our narrative to facilitate communication with women participants. Despite our efforts to attain equal study participation by men and women, we could not address challenges resulting from the fundamental gender inequality rooted in the male-dominated Indian society. At one session, women sat behind men or in corners by choice and did not share the same sofa or adjacent chairs in the same room. Women and men sat separately in all the sessions. In a rural public library, many women covered their heads so that men in the same room could not see their faces, a custom usually practiced in public places. At some sessions, the gender of a librarian could have affected the gender of study participants. For instance, in a tribal, rural public library where the librarian was a man, only men attended our session. 4.10. Infrastructural vulnerability, related challenges, and solutions Some public libraries in old buildings do not have restrooms. Women typically avoid visiting such public libraries; fortunately, however, a majority of the public libraries where we conducted fieldwork were operated from newly constructed buildings with restrooms. Three to four public libraries in old buildings had narrow winding stairs with somewhat restricted access. One library had no space for chairs to accommodate more than six people. We could not totally mitigate the challenges related to restrooms but ended up conducting a focus group discussion on a carpet on the floor in the absence of chairs. Marginalized communities in remote rural areas do not have access to consistent, operating mobile network, or electricity for charging mobile devices, which can discourage them from using mobile phones to carry out time-sensitive financial transactions. This vulnerability forced participants not to rely on mobile phones for finance. In the absence of network coverage, it was challenging to give demonstrations using mobile phones as intended. We also conducted a three-hour session with no electricity. 5. Lessons learned We offer a structured guidance in the form of the lessons that we learned during fieldwork. Our organic guidance is not biased or informed by theories or models of Western culture. Instead, it is based on our fieldwork planned and implemented from the point of view of marginalized communities, which sets it apart from the existing guidelines. Our eighteen lessons are divided into the three phases of before, during, and after fieldwork, and can inspire and help graduate students, new graduates of doctoral programs, library and information science researchers, and not-for-profit organizations to plan and conduct more participant-centric research by customizing fieldwork around the vulnerabilities of marginalized communities. 5.1. Before fieldwork 1 Social responsibility of addressing “grand challenges:” Our study was driven by our social responsibility of empowering marginalized communities in a timely manner in response to a grand challenge in a developing nation like India. For instance, over 200 million Indians living in poverty are less likely to benefit from the Government of India's push for a cashless society if they do not have the skills and knowledge required for using mobile phones for finance. ICT4D studies should aim to address such grand challenges in our global society. 2 Plan ahead of time for bureaucratic procedures and permissions: All team members who would have access to data should complete the training, if required, for engaging in social and behavioral research. For instance, the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) Certificate on Social and Behavioral Research serves as a pre-requisite for seeking approval for fieldwork from the Institutional Review Boards at academic institutes in the United States. The inability of members of the research team to meet these requirements (e.g., registering for the CITI account) could delay fieldwork. It is also important to be patient when 10

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3 4

5

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seeking permission from authorities to conduct fieldwork. For instance, we struggled to contact the Director of Public Libraries, as the office does not maintain an official website. Finally, one of the researchers leveraged their professional network to schedule an appointment with the director. One of our team members had to make multiple visits and wait long hours to receive the letter of support, which was necessary for fieldwork. Make assumptions carefully: Researchers’ inappropriate or incorrect assumptions can negatively affect fieldwork. We assumed that all of our study participants own a mobile phone, which was not the case, and therefore erroneously included questions in our survey about their experiences using mobile phones for financial transactions. Participant-centric research design: When engaging with marginalized communities it is important to design the study around their vulnerable life situations. For instance, timing and duration of data collection should be convenient to study participants. It is important to be aware of contextual factors such as season, weather, and time of day when planning interactive data collection activities with marginalized communities. It is essential to schedule interactions of appropriate duration with marginalized communities. In our fieldwork, interactive sessions with longer durations seemed to experience a decrease in the quality of data we collected from study participants. Each of our sessions had a refreshment break of fifteen minutes. Some participants were reluctant to sit after the refreshment break. It could be challenging for anybody to remain alert and attentive for three straight hours. We should not have scheduled the sessions for so long. Research topic considerations: The research topic shapes the demographics of potential study participants. For instance, in the Indian household, financial and technological issues are typically the purview of men. Even women who are financially independent may not handle their own finances. Also in India, over 70% of mobile phones are owned by men (Potnis, 2016). These factors made it challenging to solicit equal attendance and participation from men and women in our fieldwork. Attitude: Researchers need to be sensitive and empathetic toward the needs, challenges, and constraints of marginalized communities and local partners. They should be flexible and open to making changes in the research design for accommodating the needs, challenges, and constraints of marginalized communities and local partners.

5.2. During fieldwork 1 Creating incentives for local partners: The Director of Public Libraries initially ordered librarians in twelve public libraries to help us during fieldwork. Some of the chosen librarians, however, were uninterested or unwilling to engage with us. The librarians’ apathy initially took us by surprise, but we soon realized that the librarians were facing difficult working conditions. After learning about and analyzing these conditions, we described to the librarians the significance of our work and potential personal and professional benefits that their cooperation could bring. We created intrinsic and extrinsic motivations for them to cooperate with us, which did not always work. 2 Dress code: Nonverbal communication between outside researchers and marginalized communities is equally, or perhaps even more, important than verbal communication during data collection (Potnis, 2014). To minimize visible differences between the participants and us, we followed local customs and traditions. For instance, a female researcher on our team tied her hair into a ponytail, as her short, open hair may have challenged the belief systems of study participants in rural Gujarat. We did not wear perfume. We wore widely accepted clothing to minimize our visual differences. 3 Respect local customs and norms, and be courteous: Researchers need to understand and respect the local customs. We learned that shoes are not worn inside several of the rural libraries we visited, partially because libraries are considered to be temples of knowledge. We followed this local norm and would advise others to do the same if faced with a similar situation during fieldwork. We were also extremely polite with the study participants in our choice of words and behavior. This guidance is in line with the way in which Du and Haines (2017) conducted research with aboriginals in rural Australia. 4 Responsive communication: Some participants mistakenly believed that we were government officials. We clarified our identities in a timely manner and discussed the purpose of our sessions to reduce any confusion. We paid close attention to the nonverbal cues and body language of study participants to gauge their interest or lack of interest in certain topics. We skipped in-depth discussions on topics like debt, which could be awkward, painful, or difficult for participants to discuss in a group setting. In retrospect, we should have had a graphical handbook or short videos highlighting key takeaways to help study participants acquire enduring skills for using mobile phones to conduct financial transactions. 5 Establishing trust and rapport: It is critical to make study participants feel comfortable since it can affect the quality of their participation. When interacting with non-English speaking study participants, we either refrained entirely from using English or used English as little as possible. We were sometimes forced to use English terminology, as there are no parallel words in Gujarati for several of the technological and financial terms that we discussed in our sessions. Whenever possible we tried to “pick up” the local accent and dialect of Gujarati to help study participants feel comfortable. On the other hand, we struggled at times to understand and communicate with study participants in tribal areas who spoke with a strong dialect. To break initial tension in the room, we typically inquired about participants’ families. We shared stories of daily problems associated with our own families, which helped them relate with us. We ate with study participants during breaks since eating together is considered a gesture of friendship and trust in several parts of India. We kept the atmosphere light and friendly by sharing situational humor and encouraging others to do the same. 6 Be patient and make arrangements to keep children occupied: In our case, some participants brought their children or grandchildren, who were too young to be left alone, to our sessions in libraries. We had not expected children to attend our sessions and hence had not planned any activities or games for keeping them busy. As a result, the children ran around during our interactions with study participants, resulting in chaos and disturbance for other library patrons. We were extremely patient with the children. 11

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Based on our experience, we recommend making arrangements to keep young children occupied if researchers plan to engage with participants who are responsible for young children. 7 Secondary benefits for vulnerable participants: In addition to creating the primary benefit of equipping the participants with financial, information, and digital literacy during fieldwork we also created awareness of and emphasized the need to treat everybody equally, regardless of gender and caste. The fact that a woman led all of our sessions must have sent a strong signal to the men who participated in our study, namely that capability and competence are not gender-specific phenomena. We gave an equal opportunity to people from different castes, who sat in the same room, to share their viewpoints and opinions. This fact also sent a strong message to the respective communities that everybody's opinion matters and is equally valuable. Our fieldwork contributed to advancing the socioeconomic and human development of participants. 8 Build bonds with local stakeholders to continue creating value for marginalized communities: We were humbled by the hospitality of librarians who insisted on us enjoying the local food during our visits. These experiences helped us bond with the librarians and local people alike and made our fieldwork truly memorable. We encourage researchers to use fieldwork as an opportunity to build bonds with local stakeholders, learn from people, and contextualize factors to continue creating value for marginalized communities. 9 Types of vulnerabilities and research design: Our flexible research design could address a majority of temporal (e.g., timing of drinking water) and situational (e.g., availability to attend sessions in monsoon or extreme heat) vulnerabilities of participants. However, we could not always overcome the negative effects of the relational and structural vulnerabilities of participants. For instance, the relationships between (a) men and women, and (b) children and their adult caretakers, and the structured, rigid, and hierarchical caste system in India created multiple psychological, physical, and cultural obstacles for women, children's caretakers, and people from lower castes to participate actively and freely in our sessions. An ethnographic approach might be more effective than a one-time interaction with marginalized communities for helping them realize and equipping them enough to overcome relational and structural inequalities ingrained in their milieu. 5.3. After fieldwork 1 Translation considerations: During translation of the survey responses from Gujarati to English, we came across a few responses that were difficult to understand. We had local assistants help several participants take the survey but realized only in the translation phase of our research that there is considerable variation in the meaning of some Gujarati words. With the conclusion of fieldwork, however, it was impossible to receive clarification on certain terms which were used, which led us to discard those responses altogether. We also observed major dialectical variations in the Gujarati language between districts, making it difficult to comprehend sentences and words used by study participants in geographically disparate focus groups. Once again, we could not receive clarification on any confusing terms with the conclusion of fieldwork. Researchers should be careful in avoiding similar pitfalls during fieldwork. Consulting with local language experts may be the best solution in such situations. 2 Revisiting data: We discussed all of our notes and observations after every alternate visit. We repeatedly reviewed our notes and observations, which helped us eliminate a few biases and misinterpretations from field observations. It is important for the research team to sift data individually and as a group before data analysis. 3 Closing the loop to create value: Make sure to contact the study participants involved in your research, using your study findings to help them address the issues they originally expressed. We plan to reach out to the public libraries, our field partners, with our study findings. Our toolkit is available for free to all, which would create value for public libraries and people living in poverty. 4 Some of the lessons we learned are in line with the guidance provided by past studies (Du & Haines, 2017; Potnis et al., 2017; Waycott et al., 2015; Kuriyan et al., 2008] for conducting ethical research with marginalized communities. Our lessons demonstrate specific ways in which outside researchers can achieve the key milestones of ethical fieldwork with marginalized communities as identified by Du and Haines (2017). These lessons include: (a) reciprocate local norms and respect the communities (i.e., lessons #8, 9, and 10), (b) establish trust with marginalized communities (i.e., lesson #11), (c) patiently interact with the communities (i.e., lesson #12), and (d) spend time with the communities (i.e., lesson #14). 6. Conclusion and limitation Our research philosophy of being aware of, and sensitive and responsive to the vulnerabilities of marginalized communities before, during, and after fieldwork guided our engagement with marginalized communities. As a result, even before setting out for fieldwork, we had identified ten vulnerabilities of our study participants and subsequent potential challenges we might have to face during fieldwork, which helped us address a majority of the challenges proactively. However, some of the challenges we experienced during fieldwork were not necessarily predictable, and we could not have planned for them without having the kind of knowledge of the field that would only come from doing the research in the field. We constantly monitored the vulnerabilities and resulting challenges that we experienced during fieldwork. Constant reflection on the vulnerabilities and resulting challenges during fieldwork, and appropriate responsive action to address the challenges, proved to be an effective method of conducting fieldwork with marginalized communities, since this approach helped us manage a majority of the challenges resulting from the geographic, temporal, technological, financial, educational, psychological, informational, infrastructural, social, and cultural vulnerabilities of the participants. We conclude that proactively planning and conducting ethical fieldwork while remaining mindful of the needs, constraints, and vulnerabilities of marginalized communities is one of the best ways to engage with these populations to benefit them via technology solutions. 12

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Our fieldwork could not address some of the vulnerabilities of the participants. For instance, it was beyond our control to resolve the technological vulnerability of the participants, which results from the lack of consistent mobile signals and supplies of electricity in rural India. However, our study shed light on one of the biggest technical challenges to building the cashless society envisioned by the Government of India. Clearly, more research is needed to identify a range of such barriers to building a cashless society in India and help the Government of India to resolve them. Acknowledgements We are thankful to OCLC/ALISE for funding this fieldwork. We are grateful to the government authorities, public libraries, librarians, and study participants in Gujarat, who helped us in this fieldwork (Award # A17-0553). References Aday, L. (1994). Health status of vulnerable populations. Annual Review of Public Health, 15, 487–509. Antony, A. (2016 February). State Bank of India default swaps jumps to highest since 2014. Retrieved from http://www.bloomberg.com/news/ articles/2016-02-10/ default-risk-at-state-bank-of-india-surges-on-bad-debt-concerns. Association of College and Research Libraries Standards Committee (2000 January 18). Information literacy competency standards for higher education [Standards]. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/Template.cfm?Section= Home&template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=33553. Baumard, P., & Starbuck, W. (2005). Learning from failures: Why it may not happen. Long Range Planning, 38(3), 281–298. Bisht, S., & Mishra, V. (2016). ICT-driven financial inclusion initiatives for urban poor in a developing economy: Implications for public policy. Behaviour & IT, 35(10), 817–832. Brewer, E., Demmer, M., Ho, M., Honicky, R., Pal, J., & Plauche, M. (2006). The challenges of technology research for developing regions. IEEE Pervasive Computing, 5(2), 15–23. Clark, M., & Gomez, R. (2011). 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Stone chips to silicon chips: A grounded theory of information and communication technology adoption in Australian indigenous households, rural, urban and remote. Canberra, Australia: Australian National University (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Raina, N. (2014). Financial literacy and credit counselling a demand-side solution to financial inclusion. Journal of Commerce & Management Thought, 5(4), 659–675. Ramachandran, D., Goswami, V., & Canny, J. (2010). Research and reality: Using mobile messages to promote maternal health in rural india. Proceedings of the 10th international conference on information and communication technologies and development conference (article no. 35)ACM. Roztocki, N., & Weistroffer, H. (2011). Information technology success factors and models in developing and emerging economies. Information Technology for Development, 17, 163–167. SCONUL Working Group on Information Literacy. (2011). 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