Research Methodology and African Studies

This book suggests some quantitative and qualitative approaches for future research in African Studies that would allow a more comprehensive look at the quality and usefulness of the field. A major premise of the book is that research in the field of African Studies is in need of constructive change resulting from healthy debate over appropriate methodologies, the linkage of theory and practice, and the ways in which African Studies research can be usefully compared to other fields. In sum, the ten chapters in the book edge toward the suggestion that African Studies might merit the definition of the 'scientific study of Africa.' Contents: List of Figures and Tables; Preface; Introduction; QUANTITATIVE STUDIES; Attitudes Toward Krio and Its Use in Various Domains; A Time Series Cross-Sectional Study of the United States Foreign Assistance to Tropical Africa; An Analysis of Recent Conflicts in South Africa Using COPDAB; The Expansion Method Applied to African Economic Development Processes; Explaining and Predicting Causes of Military Coups d'Etat in Africa: A Meta-Analysis; An Analysis of Ethnic Voting in Nigeria's 1979 Presidential Election: The Utility of Univariate Statistics; QUALITATIVE STUDIES; Political Science and the Study of African Politics: A View from the Grassroots; Conducting Survey Research in an African Country: Suggestions for Other Researchers; The African Anthem, Nkosi Sikelel'i Afrika: A Methodological Exercise in Linguistic Presuppositions; Conclusion: Ethics and African Studies Research; Bibliography. Contributors: E. Morohundiya Sawyerr, Chris M. Kimaru, Walter W. Hill, Steven M. Banks, Ngozi Caleb Kamalu, Olufemi Vaughan, Emanuel N. Uwalaka, Mohamad Sulaiman Dumbuya.