Featured image for “In the Presence of “White Skin”: The Challenges of Expectations upon Encountering White Researchers”

In the Presence of “White Skin”: The Challenges of Expectations upon Encountering White Researchers

October 5, 2021
Final post in the outstanding Bukavu Series of blogs on life for national researchers in the DRC, from Élisée Cirhuza Balolage and Esther Kadetwa Kayanga. Introduction to the Bukavu series here. Search on ‘Bukavu’ for the other posts in the series or see list at end of this piece. Original post here. We have seen how the presence of a light-skinned researcher
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Featured image for “When the Room is Laughing: From Female Researcher to Prostitute Researcher”

When the Room is Laughing: From Female Researcher to Prostitute Researcher

September 30, 2021
A last couple of posts in series from the Bukavu workshops on the realities of research in the DRCongo, this one by An Ansoms and Irene Bahati. Introduction to the Bukavu series here. Search on ‘Bukavu’ for the other posts in the series or see list at end of this piece. Original post here. Working in a conflict zone is difficult
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Featured image for “Remunerating Researchers from the Global South: A Source of Academic Prostitution?”

Remunerating Researchers from the Global South: A Source of Academic Prostitution?

September 9, 2021
Next up in our series on the realities of being a researcher in the DRC, Élisée Cirhuza Balolage. Introduction to the Bukavu series here. Search on ‘Bukavu’ for the other posts in the series or see list at end of this piece. Reposted from the Bukavu series original. While researchers from the Global North are granted a guaranteed salary, risk funds,
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Featured image for “North-South Power Differentials and Competition in the Research Business”

North-South Power Differentials and Competition in the Research Business

September 8, 2021
Next up in our series on the realities of ‘research in the South’, reposted from the Bukavu workshops in the DRC, by Godefroid Muzalia. Introduction to the Bukavu series here. Search on ‘Bukavu’ for the other posts in the series or see list at end of this piece. Original here. Collaborative research is committed to a division of labour. To summarise,
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Featured image for “We Barely Know These Researchers from the South! Reflections on Problematic Assumptions about Local Research Collaborators”

We Barely Know These Researchers from the South! Reflections on Problematic Assumptions about Local Research Collaborators

September 7, 2021
Next up in the series of reposts of Bukavu blogs from the DRC, Emery Mudinga. Introduction to the Bukavu series here. Search on ‘Bukavu’ for the other posts in the series or see list at end of this piece. Original of this post here. I’d like to reflect on three main assumptions that are circulating concerning research assistants and collaborators from
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Featured image for “Armed Guides and Otherness: Vignettes from the Field”

Armed Guides and Otherness: Vignettes from the Field

September 6, 2021
Two short pieces give us the next flavour of on the ground research in the DRC, reposted from the Bukavu Series. First, Eric Batumike Banyanga on ‘When an Armed Guide is Imposed on You: Navigating Research in a Conflict Zone’. Introduction to the Bukavu series here. Search on ‘Bukavu’ for the other posts in the series or see list at end
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Featured image for “How Researchers Navigate in Armed Conflict Zones: Some Do’s and Don’ts”

How Researchers Navigate in Armed Conflict Zones: Some Do’s and Don’ts

September 2, 2021
How do you do research in a war zone? Josaphat Musamba in the latest of our reposts from the Bukavu series. Introduction to the Bukavu series here. Search on ‘Bukavu’ for the other posts in the series. Original post here. To begin with, it’s important to underscore general principles and guidelines, which don’t necessarily relate to the risks of intimidation,
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Featured image for “When Focus Groups Fail: The Argument in Favour of Involving Local Researchers in Project Design”

When Focus Groups Fail: The Argument in Favour of Involving Local Researchers in Project Design

September 1, 2021
Next in our series of reposts from the Bukavu Series, Vedaste Cituli Alinirhu explains why importing methodologies from outside doesn’t always work. Introduction to the Bukavu series here. Search on ‘Bukavu’ for the other posts in the series. Original post here. One qualitative technique popular among researchers is the use of focus groups. But this technique is also subject to
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Featured image for ““Donor-Researchers” and “Recipient-Researchers”: Bridging the Gap between Researchers from the Global North and Global South”

“Donor-Researchers” and “Recipient-Researchers”: Bridging the Gap between Researchers from the Global North and Global South

August 31, 2021
Next up in this series of posts from the Bukavu workshops, we get into the nuts and bolts of the power differentials within the research ‘supply chain’, with Judith Nshobole. Introduction to the Bukavu series here. Search on ‘Bukavu’ for the other posts in the series. Original post here. Power imbalances between “donor-researchers” and “recipient-researchers” at the outset of a
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Featured image for “Epistemological Rupture, Detachment, and Decentring: Requirements When Doing Research “At Home””

Epistemological Rupture, Detachment, and Decentring: Requirements When Doing Research “At Home”

August 26, 2021
Next up in this series of posts from the Bukavu workshops, Francine Mudunga discusses some messy issues that face many researchers. Original post here. A researcher is, first and foremost, a human being. As such, she is a product of her society. She is defined by a particular worldview, a specific collection of values and beliefs, and a certain frame
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Featured image for “When You Become Pombe Yangu (“My Beer”): Dealing with the Financial Expectations of Research Participants”

When You Become Pombe Yangu (“My Beer”): Dealing with the Financial Expectations of Research Participants

August 25, 2021
Next up in this series of posts from the Bukavu workshops, Jérémie Mapatano Byakumbwa  discusses some messy issues that face many researchers. Original post here. In my own experience as a researcher in eastern DRC, there have been numerous occasions on which I have had to deal with explicit demands for money (or for some sort of tip) from my
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Featured image for “Invisible Voices in the Production of Knowledge: Introducing the Bukavu series”

Invisible Voices in the Production of Knowledge: Introducing the Bukavu series

August 24, 2021
There’s a lot of attention on this blog to localizing aid (increasing the power and resources in the hands of local organizations rather than white men in shorts), but what about localization of research? For the next few weeks, I am largely handing over the blog to the Bukavu Series, a set of blog posts (and now a book) written
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