Today, one of the central tenets of development is the necessity for learning about and building upon stakeholders - and beneficiaries - insights, needs, culture, social organization, resources and active participation. This title clarifies the myriad approaches to social research being used in the World Bank today. The focus is on participatory research as presently practised and as a potential for forms of research, which are not now particularly participatory. It makes a number of recommendations to enhance the utility of social research in and outside of the Bank.