Methodologies. Neither for nor against, much to the contrary

Abstract

The thorny issue of methodology has haunted many a social scientist, among them, anthropologists. Hard to define, method is often confused with research techniques; students and professionals alike very frequently propose, for instance, participant observation as their privileged “method”. However, there are striking differences between method and technique. Method is a guide, an organizer of research procedures. At the same time, it reveals the researchers’ inclinations towards their objects. This paper comments on the use of methodology, presents outstanding cases of its appropriate use, and gives examples of indigenous methodologies as counter examples, stressing the indigenous way of doing research, usually permeated with histories of subjugation, humiliation, generalized violence, and dehumanization inflicted on nonwestern peoples who happen to be in the way of western expansion and conquest.