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The paper's objective is to construct a general framework which will increase the useful data, while reducing the cost of data collection in developing countries. The search for useful principles proceeds from the economics of information, via Karl Popper's principle of error reduction, and the use of information cybernetics in public decision-making, to the design of more cost-effective models of development processes, and the significance of alternative hierarchical administrative structures for the utility obtained from primary data. These components are combined into a unified logical framework. An integrated approach to management information is identified as a desirable adjunct for its application in practice.

This article discusses the sondeo method and presents an example of its use in agricultural technology research in Guatemala. It argues that multidisciplinary agricultural research teams can augment information on agricultural technology needs. A reconnaissance survey team of ten, equally split between socio-economists and technologists, was used to assess farmer constraints and technology needs in advance of agricultural research. Quantified information and questionnaires were not required and the survey lasted only one week. The team investigated farmer conditions in pairs made up of a social and a natural scientist. On each of four days, the pairings changed. Daily post-survey team discussions were essential. Each member of the team prepared a report and these were finally amalgamated. Experience suggests that combined disciplines can, if well managed, produce incisive and efficient diagnoses of rural conditions and needs, and educate the participants in multidisciplinary thinking.

It looks at the principles and the methodology employed on a research project in northern Nigeria, which involved the collection of both farm management and nutritional data. The study was a wide ranging one; as such clear decisions about the type of data to be collected was made on the basis of time costs. The use of registered-non registered, continuous - one point and data cores are described and discussed. From these follow the means of sample stratification using these principles. Some ideas for improving RRA are suggested.

The paper discusses a project which aimed to acheive agricultural diversification by encouraging the production of cotton in the Gambia. An evaluation was carried out by the ODA's food strategy group in association with the Ministry of Agriculture. The object of the rapid appraisal was to identity constraints in its expansion, to examine the distribution of its benefits between and within households and to assess its potential as a cash crop alternative to groundnuts. The methodology of the appraisal is decribed, which involved investigating the organization of farm labour and technical aspects of cultivation.

Aspects of RRA are discussed which suggest how a divergence might occur between its social and scientific value. As a positive exercise, it often serves only a legitimating function for policies already confirmed by its sponsors; the prior existence of relevant organized knowledge and the extent of formal method are also determinants of the status of the appraisal. The use and shortcomings of indicators are discussed with reference to the example of social relations within an unsupervised credit strategy. A case study of a rapid appraisal in one village in Comilla District in Bangladesh is described.

This article is from a special issue on focus groups (FGs). FGs can be used to gain insights into the dynamic relationships of attitudes, opinions, motivations, concerns and problems related to current and projected activities. They developed in the private sector as a market research tool, but have been adapted for use in other types of project. The article defines FGs, and discusses its uses, primarily in relation to qualitative research. The advantages of this method are discussed, and contrasted with more conventional and quantitative research methods. The methodology of group session research is described under the headings: sample design, specific group requirements, group discussion guide, conducting the sessions, attitude of the moderator, and evaluation, analysis and interpretation of results. The application of FG research to social action projects is discussed. Throughout, reference is made to examples from a family planning project in Mexico.