| dc.description.abstract | This paper presents a practical guide on relevant methods to be applied when carrying out research on pastoral livelihoods. It is apparent in the discussions that no single method could provide a holistic approach in understanding how pastoral households are able to sustain their livelihoods in increasingly arid conditions where they occupy. Combinations of different methods are discussed where each serves a different but complementary role within the overall research design. The research methods includes: documentary review, observation and informal interview, key informant interview, household survey, and case histories and mapping. It is documented that the collection of information concerning livelihoods of pastoral communities requires a good level of trust between the researcher and the respondents. Informal discussion with villagers and local leaders during the reconnaissance period, prior to conducting formal interviews is used as a way of achieving this trust among villagers. Furthermore, identifying research assistants who are resident in the research area also improves trust by village members. Using different methods and asking different people the same questions is a means of ensuring reliability of the information collected. The use of open-ended questions is aimed at obtaining a deeper and clearer understanding of the livelihood responses of different groups, with different level of access and rights to socio-economic resources. It is argued that analysis of pastoral livelihoods using the documented methods could lead to a successful development of strategic short, mid-term and long term interventions which may enhance the existing livelihoods strategies of the pastoral communities. | en_US |
