Researching Sustainable Development of the Rural Poor in India

This paper examines the methodology undertaken by one PhD researcher in a rural Indian context. The research built an in-depth understanding of how to deliver an improvement in the sustainable development of local rural Indian villages. The sustainable development projects are developed and implemented by Non-Governmental Organisations but are part funded through the corporate responsibility programme of a multi national Bank. The research focused on the processes used in the projects, how they were implemented and the outcomes achieved. This paper does not explore the outcomes of this research but rather describes the research methodology undertaken to effectively execute the research. The research methodology chosen was that of case study with an interpretivist stance. To achieve the required level of discussion and observation was facilitated by undertaking an ethnographically-styled approach. In summary this paper provides an insight into a method for undertaking research in a local rural developing country context.