Navigating Complex Research Terrains The Experiences of Social Researchers in the Global South

This edited book explores the lived experiences of researchers in the Global South, navigating complex terrain and the struggle for epistemic contribution and recognition both inside and outside the academy. Throughout the chapters, researchers provide accounts of their lived research experiences, and explore alternative worldviews in which Southern and Northern epistemologies find common ground. The book will be of interest to students and scholars interested in research methodology, knowledge creation, international development and the wider social sciences.

Part 1: Researchers’ Lived Experiences.- Chapter 1: Researcher Reflexivity: Decolonising Social Research Through the Global South Lens.- Chapter 2: Experiences of Conducting Decolonial, Participatory Action Research in a Transdisciplinary Team in Cape Town, South Africa.- Chapter 3: Social Scientists and Their Ancestors.- Chapter 4: When the Other ‘Infiltrates’ the Ivory Tower.- Chapter 5: ‘Leaving Becomes the Only Way Out’: The False Promise of Academic Freedom for Emerging Global South Scholars.- Chapter 6: Learning Perceptions and Learning Adaptation: A Case Study Using the Language Convergence/Meaning Divergence Analysis.- Part 2: Empirical Experiences.- Chapter 7: Transdisciplinary and Transregional Experiences of Research with Street-Involved Children in Harare, Zimbabwe.- Chapter 8: Positionality and Power: Reflections of Non-Disabled Researchers Working with Women with Disabilities in Botswana.- Chapter 9: Navigating the Research Terrain in Zimbabwe and South Africa: An Autoethnographic Study.- Chapter 10: Conclusion: Thinking Differently.

Oliver Mutanga is Assistant Professor in the Graduate School of Education at Nazarbayev University, Kazakhstan, and Research Associate in the College of Education at the University of South Africa.

Faith Mkwananzi is Associate Professor in the Centre for Development Support at University of the Free State, South Africa.