Research to do, results to sell: Enabling subjects and researchers

Abstract

The nature of the encounter and exchange between researchers and subject communities is complex. The highly researched traditionalist ≠Khomani community in the Northern Cape, South Africa, has come to perceive researchers as often exploitative. The community expresses the expectation that research should result in immediate financial benefit for them. This paper addresses these perceptions and examines participatory research methods that ensure that marginalised voices are heard and represented. In so doing, we discuss the uses of cultural studies in development discourses

Keywords:

• Research
• participatory communication
• cultural studies
• methodology
• indigenous communities
• ‘Bushmen’