Melvin Ojo Agunbiade

Ojo Melvin Agunbiade is a lecturer in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Obafemi Awolowo University in Ile-Ife. He teaches courses on sociological theory, social research methods, and the sociology of health. His research interests include sexual health, ageing, youth, gender and society, traditional medicine, and development. Ojo holds a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science degree in Sociology and Anthropology, both awarded by Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. With the award of a Doctoral Scholarship from the Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa (CARTA), he proceeded to the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. The invaluable support from the university and CARTA helped him to complete his Ph.D. thesis within three years. He received a Commonwealth Scholarship in 2016 to pursue a Master’s degree (distance learning) in Gerontology at the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom. The programme aligns with his professional development plan, which includes building a research career in ageing. Melvin has mentored a growing number of undergraduates in sociology, and two of them are currently pursuing doctoral programmes in sociology with full scholarships. He has published in reputable peer-reviewed journals and academic books. In terms of methodological perspective, he tilts toward mixed methods rather than any singular orientation. He believes mixed methods are useful and better able to produce valid knowledge from diverse but relevant positions. Consequently, he finds the interpretative sociological perspective appealing to his research activities. Within this broad sociological perspective, social-practice theories, social constructionism, and postmodernism have provided a fruitful framework for his ongoing research engagements.