The Poverty of Data in Africa: Why the Continent Needs More Bacon. (December 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Kinyondo, Abel; Pelizzo, Riccardo; Bekenova, Kristina
• Is Part Of: World affairs. Volume 182:Number 4(2019)
• Page Start: 302
• Page End: 323
• Publication Date: 2019-12
• Subjects: Data Analysis -- Africa -- Social Science Research -- Methodology -- Francis Bacon -- Logic of Scientific Discovery -- Data Quality in Developing Countries -- Development Studies -- Poverty -- Empirical Research Methods -- Global South -- Cross-Country Comparisons -- Quantitative Studies; África -- Análisis de datos -- Metodología -- Calidad de los datos en naciones en desarrollo -- Investigación en el Sur Global -- Comparación de naciones -- Estudios cuantitativos; 非洲 -- 方法论 -- 方法 -- 数据收集 -- 不良数据 -- 政治学 -- 社会科学研究 -- 社会现象 -- 客观知识 -- 认识论 -- 弗兰西斯·培根; International relations -- Periodicals; Peace -- Periodicals; Arbitration (International law) -- Periodicals; United States -- Foreign relations -- Periodicals; Arbitration (International law); International relations; Peace; United states; Foreign relations; Internationale politiek; Periodicals; 327.05
• DOI: 10.1177/0043820019883614
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0043-8200

Abstract

Even if data analysis in Africa has allegedly allowed analysts to expand the boundaries of inquiry, social science research in the continent has been hindered by several problems. Some of these problems could be viewed as subcategories of the idols that Francis Bacon had identified. We show in the present article that bad data lead to bad analyses, which in turn lead to misleading interpretations and misleading interpretations lead to a type of knowledge that is distinctively different from real and objective knowledge. We conclude by recommending that to avoid most, if not all, of the research problems in Africa, social science researchers should realize that social phenomena are embedded in an infinite web of relations from which only true meaning can emerge. It follows that, to gain a proper appreciation of such network of relations, social phenomena must be approached at various levels from different perspective.