Decolonising Research Methodologies in South Africa: A Longitudinal Study from an African Feminist Perspective, 2021–2026

This longitudinal study (2021–2026) addresses the persistent epistemic hegemony of Western research paradigms within African Studies in South Africa. It investigates how decolonial theory is operationalised into tangible, ethical research practice from a specifically African feminist standpoint. Employing participatory action research, the project collaborated with a cohort of 22 early-career women researchers across five South African universities. Longitudinal data were generated through iterative focus group discussions, reflective journals, and the co-creation of pilot research projects, and were analysed via rigorous reflexive thematic analysis. Findings reveal that substantive decolonisation constitutes an iterative, often contested process of epistemic disobedience, which centres relationality, critical positionality, and embodied knowledge. Participants consistently identified the validation of indigenous knowledge systems and languages, coupled with a systematic critique of extractive research logics, as fundamental to cultivating emancipatory methodologies. The study contends that an African feminist lens is indispensable for this praxis, as it foregrounds intersectional power analyses and communal ethics of care. Its significance lies in offering an empirically grounded, longitudinal model for methodological transformation, demonstrating how sustained collaborative engagement can shift institutional cultures. This contributes directly to academic leadership and governance by proposing concrete strategies for departments and funders to support ethically coherent, contextually relevant knowledge production centred on African women’s intellectual agency.