Fieldworkthat listens.
I am Riasat Ali, an anthropology student at Jahangirnagar University from Khulna. I do ethnographic research and digital data collection, and I care most about getting people's own words down accurately, ethically and with their trust.
Listen first,
then write it down
Methods and tools I work with
About me
Born and raised in Khulna, now studying BSS Anthropology at Jahangirnagar University in Savar. I started out gathering stories for Kishor Alo as a school student, and that habit of listening carefully turned into a career in field research.
4
Field engagements, from reporting to ethnography
3
Communities studied: Monipuri, dry fish, coastal women
5.00
GPA in both SSC and HSC
2018
First field reporting with Kishor Alo
StudyingBSS in Anthropology, Jahangirnagar University, 2023 to present
FocusGender, health, livelihoods and indigenous communities in Bangladesh
RootsKhulna City, with deep local knowledge of its communities
LanguagesBengali, English, Hindi and Urdu
Research and field work
Qualitative work with real communities: interviews, observation and a field diary that never leaves my bag.
2025 to now
Young ResearcherSalty Waters: Silent Struggle
HEAT project, funded by UGC Bangladesh and the World Bank
An ethnographic study of women's reproductive health in saline-affected coastal Bangladesh.
- In-depth interviews, participant observation and key informant interviews
- Sensitive, confidential engagement with vulnerable adult women
- Digital field data and regular progress reports to the supervising researcher
2023 to now
Academic Field ResearcherMonipuri Para and the dry fish community
Department of Anthropology, Jahangirnagar University
- Sreemangal, Kamalganj: community-based ethnography of Monipuri social structure and cultural practice
- Nazirartek, Cox's Bazar: led research on labour, livelihoods and socio-economic life in the dry fish community
- Structured and semi-structured interviews, field diaries, ethical community engagement
Jan 2018 to Jul 2019
ContributorInformation gathering, Khulna
Kishor Alo, Prothom Alo Group
- Informal interviews with people from varied backgrounds, under editorial supervision
- Accuracy, confidentiality and ethical standards under deadline pressure
What I bring
Ethnographic method on one side, clean digital data collection on the other.
Data collectionDigital tools
SurveyCTOKOBO ToolboxGoogle Forms
MethodEthnographic practice
In-depth interviewsFGDParticipant observationKIIField diary
Ethics and officeTrust and tools
Informed consentRespondent trustEthical data collectionGoogle WorkspaceMS WordMS Excel
BengaliNative
EnglishFluent
HindiConversational
UrduConversational
Education
2023 to nowBSS in Anthropology
Jahangirnagar University
2022Higher Secondary Certificate
Govt. Sundarban Adarsha College, Khulna · Jessore Board
2020Secondary School Certificate
Saint Joseph's High School, Khulna · Jessore Board
