THE NEED FOR THEMATIC INVESTIGATION/RESEARCH IN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES

THE NEED FOR THEMATIC INVESTIGATION/RESEARCH IN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES

The need for research cannot be overemphasized in the organization of community development activities.   A lot of persons have depended on common sense in selecting what they consider as the most common need of the rural dwellers and have ignorantly embarked on such activities.  Thematic investigation is always one of the first activities embarked upon before and after a community development proposal has been approved.  Again, thematic investigation also  means ‘searching for facts; finding answers to questions;  identifying an existing problem and  getting closest solutions to these identified problem’ amongst others.

Again, thematic investigation gives the rural dwellers the opportunity to explain in their own words how they feel, what they think and how they make sense of the world they live in.   The following are some of the reasons why we embark on thematic investigation/research before we start a community development project/activity.

THE DEMOGRAPHY OF THE RURAL POPULACE

This is searching and knowing the total make-up of the people in a particular rural community in terms of statistics such as birth, marriage, disease etc.   The demographic knowledge of a rural community will help change agents to plan and execute their activities very well since such projects/activities demands a popular participation of the rural dwellers.  If the elderly makes a huge population of a particular community, the change-agents (community development officers) will know the best project/activity and method to adopt in achieving it.

THE FELT-NEEDS OF THE RURAL DWELLERS

It takes only research to know what the felt-need of a rural community can be.  Felt needs can be defined as those things that are needed by the rural dwellers in order to enhance their standard of living.  It could be a good pipe borne water; a befitting market stall, a recreation ground; a school; a town hall etc.  It’s never enough for change-agents to imagine what the needs of the rural people are without carrying out research to find them out.

THE MYTHS AND TRADITION OF THE RURAL COMMUNITY

Before a change can occur, it is important to understand what makes people to behave and act the way they do.  If a particular community prefers to fetch drinking water from a particular river instead of other variety of rivers, then there must be a reason to that.  Every change-agent must try to find out why a community behaves the way they do.  Sometimes, a community might be known for a particular vice without knowing what led to their adopting such attitude as their lifestyle.  Thematic investigation brings to bare the history of the people and what made them become who they are today. This understanding will make us know how sacred a particular attitude or lifestyle is to them.

In Africa, especially in Nigeria, we are still struggling to make research a part of our practice and not just a mere principle.  Yet, community development is one profession where research is just too compulsory for the success of all our activities within the rural communities. It therefore becomes necessary that no matter how little the activity is, if it has to do with community development then thematic investigation/research is a must.