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The Challenge of Researching Development Issues: A Methodological Proposal
Over the years, many studies focusing on development issues have been carried out. Given all the different theoretical positions and the many areas of study, the sociology of development has been a fertile field for the social sciences. However, the dissemination of the methodologies that have been implemented to investigate the sociology of development has not been as prolific. A methodological framework that facilitates in an effective and integrated way the research of all aspects of development issues is not easy to achieve. As is known, development issues include not only social and economic, but also cultural, gender, environmental and technological variables, to name a few.
So, how should development issues be investigated? How can we put together a set of research tools that will enable us to address the different aspects of development issues? How can we look beyond the quantifiable data and "visible" information of development issues? This presentation proposes some methodological reflections on how to approach the problems of development, considering not only different research techniques, but also different strategies to deal with complex research fields. Also included is a case study that illustrates the challenge of researching development issues.