Social Science Research in Swaziland: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches

Abstract

The divergent standpoints of quantitative and qualitative researchers have spawned a number of methodological dilemmas with regard to which procedures yield more compelling evidence in social scientific research. This paper explores the controversies within the context of developing countries, assessing their claims in light of research conducted in Swaziland. The status of social research in the country is examined focusing on specific methodological techniques and the controversies surrounding their use in studying a broad range of social phenomena. The paper underscores the importance of the research’s competence in utilizing particular techniques, and demonstrates that merely employing popular research methods does not necessarily yield compelling evidence. Through a critical discussion of recently published works, the analysis exposes some of the hidden dimensions of research practice in developing countries that raise important questions over the extent to which researchers in these contexts effectively utilize the established techniques. Using specific examples from the literature, the paper demonstrates how the methods and theoretical orientations used in the diverse studies can be combined in a single project to yield findings that could unveil the critical, but taken-for-granted, dimensions of human experience. The paper, therefore, asserts that to comprehensively explore the diversity of social life, there is a need to apply a combination of approaches in examining the diverse, and sometimes contradictory, facets of contemporary society. Importantly, it is argued that imposing a stringent requirement that investigations be either quantitative or qualitative fails to take cognizance of the diversity of social phenomena, as well as the contextual differences that make the choice of method entirely contingent upon the dynamics of the research situation.