Decolonising Research

Indigenous Methodologies in Sub-Saharan Africa
1. Auflage 2026
ISBN: 978-1-032-76118-3
Verlag: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Buch, Englisch, 212 Seiten, Format (B × H): 174 mm x 246 mm

Decolonising Research examines the effectiveness of indigenous research methodologies for studying Africa while also examining their effectiveness for generating relevant knowledge and practical research outcomes for community/national problem-solving.

Considering theories of empowerment and social justice, researching indigenous communities required participatory and collaborative methodologies, this book fills research methodological gaps and offers a Sub-Saharan African lens to the research of South Sudan, Northern Uganda, Kenya/Somalia, Somaliland, Botswana, Nigeria and Ghana. It does this by identifying and discussing the “How”, “What” and “Why” of these methodologies as they pertain to themes of indigeneity, silence, ethics, ceremony, botho, joking relationship, orality, divinations, and Sub-Sahara Africa.

This book includes contributions from early career academics, academic practitioners who are all emerging as leading experts in their field. It will be of broader interest to postgraduate students, international agencies/personnel, governments, and policy-makers conducting ethnographic or contextual/participatory research and research implementation.

Zielgruppe

Postgraduate and Undergraduate Advanced

Autoren/Hrsg.

Ramabu, Nankie M.

Bedigen, Winnifred

Njeri, Sarah

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Psychologie Psychologie / Allgemeines & Theorie Psychologische Forschungsmethoden
• Sozialwissenschaften Ethnologie | Volkskunde Volkskunde Historische & Regionale Volkskunde
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Soziologie Allgemein Empirische Sozialforschung, Statistik

Inhaltsverzeichnis

List of Contributors

Acknowledgements

Chapter One: Introduction to the book. By Dr Winnifred Bedigen and Dr Nankie Ramabu.

Chapter Two: Beyond the Insider/Outsider Binary in Fieldwork: Intersectionality as an Alternative Analysis of a Fieldwork Experience in Uganda. By Dr Eunice Akullo

Chapter Three:  Fluid Ethnography: Ceremony Research Methodology (CRM) in Nilotic Societies of Southern South Sudan. By Dr Winnifred Bedigen

Chapter Four: Ceremonial Taboos for Uncovering Gendered Power Relations in the Tachoni Circumcision Ritual. By Dr Lucy K.L Mandillah

Chapter Five: Exploring Botho philosophy as a foundation for a culturally relevant and ethical participative research process: Considerations and reflections from a mixed method project in Botswana. By Dr Nankie Ramabu

Chapter Six: Orality and reflexivity in empirical research: Re-imagining the unwritten past in post-conflict northern Uganda. By Dr Betty Okot

Chapter Seven: The Ontological Significance of Silence in African Communities: Exploring How Silence Communicates in Botswana, and southern South Sudan. By Dr Nankie Ramabu and Dr Winnifred Bedigen

Chapter Eight: Negotiating Power, Reflexivity and Positionality: Gender and the Joking Relationship in Researching Women in Rural Northern Ghana. By Dr Constance Awinpoka Akurugu

Chapter Nine: Decolonising Data: Indigenous Methodologies for Community-Driven Research in Sub-Saharan Africa. By Dr John Mary Kanyamurwa

Chapter Ten: Rethinking Governance Evaluation: Influencing Policy Outcomes through the African Peer Review Mechanism in Uganda. By Dr Martin Kizito

Chapter Eleven: Conclusion By Dr Winnifred Bedigen and Dr Nankie Ramabu

Über Autor(innen)

Winnifred Bedigen is Lecturer in International Development at the University of Leeds, United Kingdom. Her research areas include peacebuilding, gender, and African Indigenous Knowledge. Dr Bedigen is a Mentor in The British Academy Mentoring Scheme and a Commonwealth Scholarship Academic Adviser.

Nankie M. Ramabu is an Associate Professor of Public Health at Boitekanelo College in Botswana, where she leads the Department of Public Health and Health Promotion. Her expertise lies in strengthening health systems and developing impactful community interventions to enhance health outcomes.

Sarah Njeri is a lecturer in Humanitarianism and Development at the Global Development Studies Department, SOAS, University of London. She is a peace and conflict scholar with degrees in conflict resolution and peace studies from the University of Bradford’s Peace Studies Department.