Africanising social science research methodology for development: reflections and strategies

The paper interrogates the imperative of the so-called unique African indigenous research methodology in the social sciences. It thus examines the justification or motives for such a unique methodological approach and its relevance especially with reference to the development challenges of the continent. Basically, the quest for a peculiar or unique African research methodology has been largely fuelled by the increasing consensus in the extant literature that Western knowledge frameworks undergirded by Cartesian rationality has failed to adequately capture African realities and drive the much-needed development in the continent. The above sentiments have also been apprehended in the clamour for a decolonisation of knowledge in the continent. However, the paper, while cognisant of the limits of Western knowledge frameworks, argues for a middle-of-the-road approach which harvests the best of Cartesian rationality and engenders the deployment of indigenous frameworks of knowledge which embodies both the lived experience of people and their aspirations. In effect, it argues for the plurality of epistemologies in the social sciences. Based on the foregoing, the paper outlines a scheme for the social science studies of Africa that would not only add to knowledge but yield results consistent with the development challenges.