Qualitative methods for gender research in agricultural development

The rise of mixed methods approaches to development-oriented research has brought new attention to qualitative research methods. This paper describes the use of qualitative approaches to illuminate gender relations in agricultural development research and project implementation. For gender research,...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor principal: Rubin, Deborah
Formato: Artículo preliminar
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: International Food Policy Research Institute 2016
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/148184
_version_ 1855515034329808896
author Rubin, Deborah
author_browse Rubin, Deborah
author_facet Rubin, Deborah
author_sort Rubin, Deborah
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description The rise of mixed methods approaches to development-oriented research has brought new attention to qualitative research methods. This paper describes the use of qualitative approaches to illuminate gender relations in agricultural development research and project implementation. For gender research, qualitative methods can be particularly helpful in illuminating how men and women view their lives. Drawing on literature about social science methods and linking it to recent examples of qualitative methods employed in research and development projects, the paper argues for greater precision in key concepts of gender research, starting with sex and gender. From the many possible qualitative methods used in development work, the paper focuses on several common observational (both direct and participatory) and interview techniques, the latter including key informant and group interviews and focus group discussions. Researchers use various techniques to gather different types of information, for example, mapping techniques to understand men’s and women’s different types of knowledge about their environment and eliciting in-depth information on a single topic with key informants. In a brief discussion of the analysis of qualitative data, the paper notes that informant responses are not “the truth” but need to be assessed against other sources of data. Finally, there is a short discussion of how qualitative data have been used in comparative work. The paper concludes that the results of good qualitative research on gender relations can help identify the locally specific pathways needed to achieve gender-transformative development approaches.
format Artículo preliminar
id CGSpace148184
institution CGIAR Consortium
language Inglés
publishDate 2016
publishDateRange 2016
publishDateSort 2016
publisher International Food Policy Research Institute
publisherStr International Food Policy Research Institute
record_format dspace
spelling CGSpace1481842025-11-06T05:12:32Z Qualitative methods for gender research in agricultural development Rubin, Deborah gender analytical methods interviews agriculture qualitative analysis informant interviews methodology women The rise of mixed methods approaches to development-oriented research has brought new attention to qualitative research methods. This paper describes the use of qualitative approaches to illuminate gender relations in agricultural development research and project implementation. For gender research, qualitative methods can be particularly helpful in illuminating how men and women view their lives. Drawing on literature about social science methods and linking it to recent examples of qualitative methods employed in research and development projects, the paper argues for greater precision in key concepts of gender research, starting with sex and gender. From the many possible qualitative methods used in development work, the paper focuses on several common observational (both direct and participatory) and interview techniques, the latter including key informant and group interviews and focus group discussions. Researchers use various techniques to gather different types of information, for example, mapping techniques to understand men’s and women’s different types of knowledge about their environment and eliciting in-depth information on a single topic with key informants. In a brief discussion of the analysis of qualitative data, the paper notes that informant responses are not “the truth” but need to be assessed against other sources of data. Finally, there is a short discussion of how qualitative data have been used in comparative work. The paper concludes that the results of good qualitative research on gender relations can help identify the locally specific pathways needed to achieve gender-transformative development approaches. 2016-05-27 2024-06-21T09:24:00Z 2024-06-21T09:24:00Z Working Paper https://hdl.handle.net/10568/148184 en https://hdl.handle.net/10568/149441 https://hdl.handle.net/10568/149421 Open Access application/pdf International Food Policy Research Institute Rubin, Deborah. 2016. Qualitative methods for gender research in agricultural development. IFPRI Discussion Paper 1535. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://hdl.handle.net/10568/148184
spellingShingle gender
analytical methods
interviews
agriculture
qualitative analysis
informant interviews
methodology
women
Rubin, Deborah
Qualitative methods for gender research in agricultural development
title Qualitative methods for gender research in agricultural development
title_full Qualitative methods for gender research in agricultural development
title_fullStr Qualitative methods for gender research in agricultural development
title_full_unstemmed Qualitative methods for gender research in agricultural development
title_short Qualitative methods for gender research in agricultural development
title_sort qualitative methods for gender research in agricultural development
topic gender
analytical methods
interviews
agriculture
qualitative analysis
informant interviews
methodology
women
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/148184
work_keys_str_mv AT rubindeborah qualitativemethodsforgenderresearchinagriculturaldevelopment