Methods for Development Work and Research

This completely revised version of the successful 1995 text covers a wide range of issues relating to research concepts and methods. It incorporates new lessons that have been learned regarding the merits and pitfalls of development work. Reflecting on how and why research in international development work has become a special case within the social sciences, this book provides innovative examples of participatory methods in action; methodological guidance on linking research purpose, questions and methods in qualitative and quantitative research; highlights new methods for development work and research like the rights-based approach. Appreciative inquiry, the social capital analysis tool and geomatics; emphasizes the gender perspective in development work; and discusses ethics, regulations and codes of conduct, as well as the question of encounters with ‘other’ cultures. This text offers invaluable practical guidance and critical reflection on methods for development work and research in a non-orthodox spirit. With its refreshing multi-and cross-disciplinary perspective on development studies and their application, this new edition will be an essential resource for development planners and practitioners, and for researchers and students of development studies.