Analysis of social research methodologies on gender relations in agriculture, fisheries and forestry

This paper uses 52 studies on gender relations in agriculture, fisheries, and forestry sectors between 1980 and 1999 as a means of identifying and critically examining the research methods and epistemologies used in the analysis of gender relations and sustainable development. The findings indicate that surveys are most often used to determine the roles of men and women in production and processing tasks, while fewer studies use qualitative or interpretive approaches. Studies that examined participation and project impacts within households indicate progress towards more transformational epistemology. The author suggests that the use of complementary and integrative methods and various epistemologies will result in more thorough analysis of gender relations and could have transformative impacts on sustainable development.