Toward an African Community-Based Research (ACBR) Methodology

Abstract

Based on an expressed need in the past few years for an appropriate research methodology for colonized peoples, this article proposes a way of conducting research that is faithful to the essential tenets of the African culture. The article delineates principles of a community-based participatory approach to research in Africa. After first outlining the essential tenets of a community-based research (CBR) that are relevant for research projects in Africa, the article argued that the existing CBR lacked a specifically African philosophical basis. It explained the uniqueness of the African philosophy. It then summed up the research principles based on that philosophy. Last, the challenges of conducting such a research study in Africa were outlined. Despite the African emphasis of the overall approach, this proposed methodology may be employed in similar settings where issues such as decolonization are important variables in the research strategy.