Methodologically Thinking: Doing Disability Research in Ghanaian Cultural Communities

Jeff Grischow,Magnus Mfoafo-M’Carthy,Augustina Naami,Wisdom Mprah

doi:10.16993/sjdr.702

Abstract

This article discusses methodological challenges encountered during a collaborative North-South research project. Based on fieldwork on the oral history of disability rights in Ghana, we argue that conducting research in the global South requires adapting international research methodologies to Southern socio-cultural contexts. Adaptations are needed in all stages, including ethics (where trust-building and culturally informed consent are vitally important), recruitment (which must consider local socio-cultural factors), and data collection and analysis (where flexibility and adaptiveness are essential in response to the lived reality of participants with different disability types). We conclude that flexible, collaborative methods can produce results that reflect the lived experiences of persons with disabilities in the global South, while following international methodological norms.

Highlights

Collaborative North-South disability research presents methodological challenges, especially when funding comes from institutions in the global North for fieldwork in the global South
The familiarity of our research team with local socio-cultural contexts prompted us to include interview questions speaking to spiritual beliefs about disability in Ghana, moving beyond the assumption that all precolonial Ghanaian societies accepted persons with disabilities in the spirt of ubuntu
Our experience illustrates the importance of collaboration with researchers based in the global South, who are familiar with actual circumstances on the ground, and a willingness to be flexible and to adapt methodologies according to circumstances in the field

Summary

Introduction

Collaborative North-South disability research presents methodological challenges, especially when funding comes from institutions in the global North for fieldwork in the global South. From its Zulu origins, ubuntu has been taken up as a general term for traditional African community, which is assumed to be inclusive and accepting of all community members, including persons with disabilities (Bannink Mbazzi et al 2020; Berghs 2017a; Chataika and McKenzie 2013; Oppenheim 2012). Viewed through the lens of ubuntu, Berghs does not seek to understand why the mother as an individual holds this belief. Instead, she asks why ‘ubuntu is not socially functioning for that mother and child’ at the community level. For Berghs, the solution is to revive ubuntu and, by extension, eliminate disability as a social construct through the re-integration of persons with disabilities into their traditional, inclusive communities

Results

Discussion

Conclusion