INTEGRATING INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE SYSTEMS INTO MEDIA RESEARCH METHODS: AN AFRICAN-CENTRED STUDY OF ABIA STATE, NIGERIA

The Indigenous Knowledge Systems have remained fundamental to communication practices in Abia State Nigeria, yet they are often marginalized in media research, dominated by Western epistemological traditions. It is as a result of the issue above, that it has become imperative to examine how Indigenous Knowledge Systems can be integrated into media research methods to enhance cultural relevance and methodological inclusivity in Nigerian media studies. The paper is hinged on Afrocentricity Theory and Participatory Communication Theory. The study adopts a qualitative, African-centred research approach. The study also employed interview methods, focus group discussions, and participant observation of indigenous communication practices such as town-union meetings, festivals, storytelling, and the town crier system in selected communities in Abia State. The study discovered that indigenous media forms function as viable sources of data, participatory research aligns with communal knowledge production, and Africancentred analytical frameworks strengthen contextual interpretation. The paper concludes that integrating Indigenous Knowledge Systems into media research is essential for advancing culturally grounded, ethically responsible, and context-sensitive media scholarship in Nigeria. It therefore, recommends among others, the institutionalization of African-centred and Indigenous research methodologies within Nigeria media scholarship