Recent debates on indigenous knowledge have tended to focus on building up even more case study material of good practice in indigenous knowledge at the local level; the integration of indigenous and scientific knowledge; and the trend towards increased co-option of indigenous knowledge into the...

There is a growing demand for replications of authoritative works in development studies, which reflects recent trends in other social sciences as well as challenges to important quantitative works in development studies where replications have made contested contributions to understanding. At...

As the emphasis on evidence-based policymaking in international development increases, so too should the attention paid to the quality of the research on which this evidence is based. One way to encourage this is by archiving research data to enable reanalysis, but this requirement is often...

There has been a significant growth in the infrastructure for archiving and sharing qualitative data, facilitating reuse and secondary analysis. The article explores some issues relating to ethics and epistemology in the conduct of qualitative secondary analysis. It also offers a critical...

According to a recent WHO report, around 100 million people are reduced to poverty every year due to costs associated with illness. Contributing to the growing literature on the economic burden of illness, this article examines the indirect and direct costs of illness that occur at the household...

Community re-studies can inform our understanding of what members of communities want from research and the extent to which they feel that they get it. The history of community research suggests that what is expected of researchers by community members can differ from what it is felt that they...

While randomized experiments can be valuable tools in evaluating aid effectiveness, research designs limit the role of qualitative methods to ‘field visits’ or description of contexts. This article suggests expanding the role of qualitative methods and highlights their advantages...

Recent efforts for an ‘Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa’ (AGRA) promote fertilizer, hybrid seeds, pesticides and biotechnology to increase agricultural production. This article examines the original Green Revolution to understand potential effects of a recent promotion of...

Solar home systems (SHS) can provide energy services to rural households more cost effectively than extending national grids, and without relying on polluting fuels such as kerosene, diesel and coal. This study explores four recent SHS programmes supported by the World Bank’s Asia...

This article reviews the paradoxical gap between theory/policy and reality from 16 years of community-based natural resources management (CBNRM) in Malawi’s fisheries, forestry and wildlife sectors, focusing on influences of imported neoliberal blueprints. The article argues that CBNRM...