Methods for Studying Collective Action in Rural Development

The CAPRi Program is one of several Inter-Center Initiatives of the CGIAR and aims to promote comparative research on the role played by property and collective action institutions in shaping the efficiency, sustainability, and equity components of natural resource systems. CAPRi Working Papers contain preliminary material and research results, and are circulated prior to a full peer review in order to stimulate discussion and critical comment. It is expected that most Working Papers will eventually be published in some other form, and that their content may also be revised. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The authors would like to thank all participants of the 2002 " International workshop on methods for studying collective action " organized by CAPRi and hosted by the World Agroforestry Centre in Nairobi, whose intellectual input has influenced the preparation of the paper. A special thank you goes to Frank Place for substantial input on specific sections of the paper, and to Brent Swallow for helpful comments. The authors are solely responsible for any inaccuracy. ii ABSTRACT With renewed recognition of the importance of collective action in many aspects of agriculture, natural resource management, and rural development programs in developing countries, there is a need for research on the factors that affect its emergence, as well as its performance. Yet because of its dynamic nature, collective action is difficult to measure and study. This article discusses ways of conceptualizing collective action to provide researchers from various disciplines with a basic framework for understanding and studying collective action. It highlights specific features of collective action that are relevant to identify best practice methodological approaches and research techniques. The main part of the paper then describes how collective action can be operationalized, highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of different methods, as well as discussing complementarities among methods. This discussion provides an overview on the use of qualitative, quantitative, experimental, and action research methods for studying collective action.