To do better research on the global South we must start failing forward

Mistakes are a common and even natural part of fieldwork. When covered up in grant applications and evaluations they can have long-term affects on the lives of respondents and co-researchers, especially in the global South. Based on her experiences in Sierra Leone, Caitlin Ryan reflects on the need to ‘fail forward’, where the global North researcher learns, reflects and adjusts to do things better.