Co-designing Digital Gender Inclusion: Qualitative Research Methods

Evidano is an AI-powered qualitative data analysis platform that helps researchers analyze interviews, open-ended surveys, and documents. The primary keyword for this post is digital gender inclusion qualitative research. According to PLOS One, the protocol titled "Why are women not online? " (published 20 August 2026) proposes a community-based participatory qualitative study in Azam Basti, Karachi to map sociocultural barriers and co-design local solutions. This post translates the PLOS One protocol (Shahil-Feroz et al., PLOS One, 20 August 2026) into actionable steps for qualitative researchers and program teams, and shows where AI-enabled tools accelerate transcription, translation, thematic coding, and cross-segment comparisons.

Key Takeaways

According to PLOS One, the study protocol "Why are women not online? " (published 20 August 2026) uses community-based participatory research and reflexive thematic analysis to identify sociocultural drivers of women's digital exclusion and to co-design interventions with family gatekeepers and community leaders.

The PLOS One protocol plans approximately 36–45 participants across FGDs and interviews, with recruitment starting in August 2026 and data collection completed by April 2027 (study timeline: Feb 2026–Jan 2028).
The PLOS One authors cite the GSMA Mobile Gender Gap Report 2024 showing women in Pakistan were 38% less likely than men to own a mobile phone or access mobile internet (GSMA, 2024).
PLOS One (Shahil-Feroz et al., 20 August 2026) highlights that "deeply entrenched sociocultural barriers" shape access and recommends engaging family gatekeepers in co-design workshops to create sustainable norms change.
The project received an SSHRC Insight Development Grant (2025 Competition) of $70, 626.00 to run the two-year CBPR study, underscoring institutional support for participatory qualitative work.

What Happened / How the PLOS One protocol works

The PLOS One protocol (Shahil-Feroz et al., PLOS One, 20 August 2026) lays out a three-phase qualitative CBPR study: form a Community Advisory Committee, conduct FGDs and in-depth interviews using photo-elicitation and role-play, then run co-design workshops to generate local solutions.

According to PLOS One (Shahil-Feroz et al., 20 August 2026), Phase 2 plans two FGDs per participant group and 4–5 individual interviews per group, with FGDs conducted in Urdu and translated to English by bilingual researchers before reflexive thematic analysis using Braun and Clarke’s approach.

The PLOS One protocol explicitly recruits marginalized women, family gatekeepers (male partners, brothers, elder women), and community leaders to surface household and community-level norms rather than only individual barriers.

"Why are women not online? " is the study title used by Shahil-Feroz et al., PLOS One (20 August 2026), reflecting the protocol’s central question about sociocultural restrictions and power dynamics that limit women's digital participation.

Findings Snapshot

Date	Metric	Value	Implication
20 August 2026	Protocol published	PLOS One study protocol (Shahil-Feroz et al.)	Detailed CBPR plan for Azam Basti, Karachi to study and co-design interventions
2024	Mobile ownership gap (GSMA)	Women in Pakistan 38% less likely than men to own a mobile or access mobile internet	Quantifies structural access gap to inform qualitative inquiry
2025 Competition	Grant funding	$70, 626 awarded (SSHRC Insight Development Grant)	Two-year funding supports community engagement, team training, and co-design
Feb 2026–Jan 2028	Study timeline	2-year project; recruitment Aug–Nov 2026; data collection complete Apr 2027; results late 2027	Timetable for planning, fieldwork, analysis, and dissemination
Approx. Aug–Nov 2026	Planned recruitment	Approximately 36–45 participants across FGDs and interviews	Feasible sample for reflexive thematic saturation in this CBPR design

Implications for qualitative researchers studying digital gender inclusion

For researchers, the PLOS One protocol (Shahil-Feroz et al., PLOS One, 20 August 2026) shows that addressing the gender digital divide requires household- and community-level inquiry, not only individual surveys.

According to the PLOS One authors (20 August 2026), purposive sampling and a Community Advisory Committee are essential to ensure cultural relevance, with advisory meetings scheduled quarterly and CAC members compensated (PKR 4500 / 16 USD) per study design.

According to PLOS One (Shahil-Feroz et al., 20 August 2026), photo-elicitation and role-play are useful participatory tools: FGDs with images encourage reflection, while role-play with gatekeepers surfaces decision-making dynamics that direct survey data will miss.

According to PLOS One (Shahil-Feroz et al., 20 August 2026), ethical safeguards must include consent procedures in local languages, thumbprint documentation for non-literate participants, and explicit plans to protect confidentiality in group settings.

How Evidano Helps

Problem: Multi-language transcription and translation slows analysis

Evidano is an AI-powered qualitative data analysis platform that helps researchers analyze interviews, open-ended surveys, and documents.

Solution: Use Evidano’s transcription and translation pipelines to transcribe Urdu interviews, apply a custom dictionary for local terms, and translate to English while preserving cultural terms for reflexive coding. See Speech-to-text and Translation.

Problem: Participatory analysis with advisory groups is hard to manage at scale

Solution: Evidano supports collaborative codebooks and hierarchical code→subcode visualizations so CAC members and researchers can co-analyze transcripts and visual materials, speeding validation and audit trails while maintaining transparency. See Features.

Problem: Comparing themes across participant segments is time consuming

Solution: Evidano’s thematic and cross-segment analyses produce frequency counts, co-occurrence networks, and exportable code matrices so teams can compare marginalised women, male gatekeepers, and community leaders as called for by the PLOS One protocol.

Problem: Field teams need an AI chat interface for rapid evidence checks

Solution: Evidano’s AI chatbot lets researchers query transcripts, get coded extracts, and produce memo drafts for co-design workshops, aligning with the reflexive memo and audit trail practices described in the PLOS One protocol (Shahil-Feroz et al., 20 August 2026).

Problem: Data security and ethics for sensitive qualitative data

Solution: Evidano encrypts data and documents clear data governance; for details see Data Security.

FAQ: digital gender inclusion qualitative research

How many participants are needed to study digital gender inclusion qualitatively?

Answer: The PLOS One protocol (Shahil-Feroz et al., PLOS One, 20 August 2026) plans approximately 36–45 participants across FGDs and interviews, aiming for theoretical saturation.

Supporting detail: The protocol schedules two FGDs per participant group with 4–5 participants each and 4–5 individual interviews per group, and cites Hennink et al. (2019) for saturation guidance.

Why include family gatekeepers in digital inclusion research?

Answer: PLOS One (Shahil-Feroz et al., 20 August 2026) argues that family gatekeepers shape household norms and control device access, so engaging them uncovers structural drivers beyond individual literacy or affordability.

Supporting detail: The protocol uses role-play with gatekeepers to reveal decision-making patterns and to co-design acceptable interventions with the community advisory committee.

Which participatory methods are recommended to surface sociocultural barriers?

Answer: The PLOS One authors recommend photo-elicitation for marginalized women and role-play for gatekeepers and leaders to elicit norms and power dynamics (Shahil-Feroz et al., PLOS One, 20 August 2026).

Supporting detail: Photo-elicitation uses curated culturally appropriate images as anchors, following a three-step ladder of questioning adapted from the SHOWeD protocol.

How can AI speed reflexive thematic analysis without sacrificing rigor?

Answer: AI tools can accelerate transcription, propose initial codes, and produce code frequency matrices, but reflexive interpretation and consensus validation with researchers and community advisors remain essential, as emphasized by Braun and Clarke and by the PLOS One protocol.

Supporting detail: Use AI to draft memos and surface co-occurrence patterns, then have human coders perform independent coding and advisory committee validation as the protocol specifies.

Conclusion & Next Steps

The PLOS One protocol (Shahil-Feroz et al., PLOS One, 20 August 2026) demonstrates that rigorous qualitative study design for digital gender inclusion pairs participatory methods with household-level engagement and careful translation and analysis workflows.

For qualitative teams planning similar work, combine photo-elicitation and role-play, recruit a community advisory committee, and plan for bilingual transcription and reflexive thematic coding as the protocol recommends.

If you want to accelerate transcription, translation, collaborative coding, and cross-segment reporting while protecting participant data, explore Evidano’s capabilities in Speech-to-text, Translation, and AI chatbot.

Next step: test the workflow on a pilot FGD and then scale analysis pipelines for the full study. Try Evidano for free

Topics

digital gender inclusion qualitative research
gender digital divide Pakistan
qualitative analysis digital exclusion
AI-enabled qualitative research

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