Book Review: Doing Development Research
| Author | Lauren Siegmann,Jessica Dart |
| DOI | 10.1177/1035719X0700700114 |
| Published date | 01 March 2007 |
| Date | 01 March 2007 |
| Subject Matter | Book Review |
BOOK REVIEWS
Evaluation Journal of Australasia, Vol. 7, No. 1, 2007
62
Title: Doing Development Research
Editors: Vandana Desai and Robert B Potter
Publisher: Sage, London
Publication date: 2006
Extent/type: 324 pages, paperback
Price: A$85 from Footprint Books which offers a 15% discount to AES members, phone (02) 9997 3973
ISBN: 1-4129-0285-1
The cross-cultural and structural
power issues that arise within
research are a well-traversed
theme in development literature.
It is a messy subject, and
resolutions persist in remaining
elusive. In what ways can
the experienced researcher
contribute to and advance this
dialogue? Beyond knowledge
of methodology, what kind of
knowledge is needed to engage in
development research?
Doing Development Research
is a collection of essays from a
range of academics with hands-
on experience of research in
developing countries. Vandana
Desai and Robert B Potter,
academics who specialise in
Geography for the University
of London and the University
of Reading respectively, are the
editors.
At the outset the editors
provide clear guidelines
regarding the book’s objectives:
‘To bring together information
and guidance from start to
fi nish that will prove invaluable
to the inexperienced student
or researcher embarking on
research or fi eldwork overseas’
(p. x). Also explored in some
detail are the tensions that can
be generated through cross-
cultural research (especially
when the researcher is from a
developed country), and the
editors assert that the volume
provides a ‘much needed cross-
cultural perspective’ (p. 6).
Overall, the book achieves its
stated objectives. The collection
is a tight volume containing the
diverse insight of the many years
of collective experience of a
range of academics.
The editors have divided the
collection into three broad areas:
Part I: The Raison D’être of
Doing Development Research is
a clear and concise introduction
to the book, which explores
the theoretical development
underpinning the research
methodologies that drive
development practice today.
Part II: Strategic Issues in
Planning Sound Research is
the ‘heart’ of the book and the
section that draws a great deal
on the personal refl ections and
experiences of the authors.
This section covers a range of
strategic issues that need to be
addressed before one can engage
in the ‘guts’ of the research, and
provides a succinct overview
of some central thematic areas
where researchers are working
today, including working with/
in children, gender and confl ict.
Another theme in the section
is guidance on how to work
with a range of partners, from
government right down to
community-based organisations;
the inexperienced researcher
will learn a great deal from the
practical advice and experience
of the writers in these chapters.
Part III: Information and Data
Collection Methods is the book’s
‘head’ and provides a more
traditional, academic overview
of how to design and conduct
research than Part II. This
section deals with a range of
methodological issues involved
in research including the ‘basics’
(e.g. the age-old qualitative vs
quantitative dilemmas), how
to design data collection (e.g.
fi eld surveys, interviewing, case
studies, participatory methods),
and using existing knowledge
effectively (e.g. literature
reviews, using indigenous
knowledge, using census data,
etc.). The chapters on working
with interpreters are a welcome
addition.
Finally, this section briefl y
addresses the issues involved in
making sure that your research
is actually read and applied,
and it is again in these chapters
that the practical wisdom of the
contributors again provides for
some enlightening reading.
One of the key challenges
in editing a book of this nature
is dealing with the precarious
balance between scope and
depth. The book is no substitute
for the thorough study of
research methodology, as the
editors acknowledge in their
introduction. The editors create
a successful balance between
these two pillars, in part because
they acknowledge the limitations
of the broad scope and have
structured the book accordingly.
To encourage further and
deeper research, each chapter
provides a range of websites and
recommendations for further
reading. In this sense, the book
is certainly useful in providing
inexperienced researchers with
a sense of ‘what they need to
know’ to conduct sound and
reliable research.
Where the book is also
successful is in capturing the
‘informal knowledge’ that comes
with practical experience in the
fi eld (and, related to this, in
acknowledging that the power
issues that arise when ‘Western’
people engage in development
research is not always clear-
cut). Many of the contributors
pepper their chapters with
personal refl ections, including
the recollections of frustration,
alienation and joy that they have
experienced through the course
of their fi eldwork. Some of the
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