Taking a research ‘safari’ into Africa: the value of going ‘pole pole’

Aloysius Marcus Kahindi and Charles E. Stevens

Chapter 9 in Handbook for Qualitative Research in Emerging Markets, 2025, pp 115-130 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: It takes time to do a research ‘safari’ into Africa, but done properly the journey has the potential to be a rewarding one. In this chapter, the authors discuss their own journeys in doing research in Africa, with contrasting ‘insider’ and ‘outsider’ perspectives. We use our experiences to illuminate the areas in which the African context challenges the conventional wisdom with respect to qualitative data collection. Numerous differences, including issues relating to the central importance of context familiarization, informal relationship-building, and the need to understand and give voice to informants’ authentic worldview and modes of sense-making, point to the need for a ‘slow and steady’ (pole pole) approach to data collection in sub-Saharan Africa. We conclude with a series of detailed, practical recommendations for the researcher interested in starting their own research safari into Africa.

Keywords: Business and Management; Development Studies; Economics and Finance; Research Methods; Sociology and Social Policy; Sustainable Development Goals (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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