ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview of some potential pitfalls of doing research in the South which have been unearthed in the development studies literature. A special emphasis has been placed on the ethical dilemmas that Western researchers face while conducting fieldwork in developing countries. The chapter reviews such dilemmas and to illustrate the theoretical and practical research methods adopted in this research. It explains the methodology adopted in the research, with a special emphasis on the questionnaire survey and the logistics and other practical matters involved in two fieldwork periods in Cuba conducted as part of the work. The chapter highlighted how researchers from Western countries have been forced to reconsider their role in the research process in the context of the South thanks to concerns raised by the recent development studies literature. The issues of power, positionality and reflexivity are linked to different types of research in which scholars can become engaged.
