Participatory Action Research
What is a participatory action research study?
Participatory Action Research is a qualitative research methodology that involves researchers and participants collaborating to understand social issues and take actions to bring about social change. It is an umbrella term for all research approaches that engage stakeholders in each step of the research process.
A participatory action research study actively engages all relevant parties (participants, communities, and others with interest in the issue being studied) in defining the research problems, developing questions, gathering data, analyzing the collected data, and preparing recommendations. In simpler terms, this study engages those close to the problem (participatory) while also striving to make positive change (action).
A participatory action research study is committed to the democratic principle of equality and justice by promoting participation and engaging multiple voices and perspectives. The focus of a participatory action research study is to make a positive social change by getting participants involved and making them more aware of their situation so they can take action to improve it. Hence, researchers and research subjects both learn and gain new knowledge in a participatory action research study.
What are examples of participatory action research?
You can use participatory action research in a variety of situations. Here are some examples of participatory action research to help you understand it better.
A participatory action research project was carried out to seek the perspectives of mental health service providers and recipients of the service about their understandings and definitions of what recovery is. The researchers documented and shared their findings with both parties to encourage greater collaboration and promote recovery.
Also, an example of participatory action research is a study undertaken to support a self-help group in a remote Aboriginal Australian community. The research team provided support to community members, who acted as researchers, to explore the main issues affecting their lives, identify the resources available to them, and take actions to improve their lives. The participants were actively involved through in-depth interviews, informal discussions, and participant observations.
Another example of participatory action research is a project undertaken by eight people in recovery to evaluate mental health services. The researchers engaged 80 of their peers, people who have experienced mental illness, in the research process. They also conducted narrative interviews to understand their unique experiences living with the illness, the impact of the mental illness on their lives, and their life goals. The study recommended that a map be provided for people in recovery to guide them in recovering to normal life.
Additionally, some youth involvement programs and family engagement activities in some schools in the USA are good examples of a participatory action research study. These programs bring researchers, students, and parents together to collect and analyze data and make recommendations for policy improvement.
What is participatory action research used for?
Participatory action research is used to make sense of a social situation and impart social change through the collective efforts of researchers and participants. This approach helps to achieve more meaningful findings and recommendations by leveraging the collective wisdom of the researchers, participants, and communities under study.
Additionally, participatory action research is also appropriate for undertaking studies that involve marginalized or disempowered people. It is used for addressing issues relating to inequality, fostering community participation, and promoting individual empowerment.
Researchers also use this approach to understand a situation from the participants’ point of view and develop action-oriented interventions that are beneficial and acceptable to all stakeholders.
What is participatory action research in qualitative research?
Participatory action research refers to all the techniques and approaches in qualitative research that involve the direct collaboration of researchers and those affected by the social issues being studied to bring about an action that will result in a positive change. Simply put, it is an umbrella term for research methods or frameworks that involves working with the research subjects to collect data, analyze it, and make recommendations.
Some methods employed in collecting data for participatory action research study include participant observation, field notes, group discussion, diary and personal logs, surveys, and questionnaires. Participatory action research is best suited for research in disciplines like education, health, university-community development, adult education, community development, and more. This approach is also great for studies involving marginalized individuals or groups of oppressed people.
What are the challenges of participatory action research?
One of the challenges of participatory action research is the diversity in the meaning of the term and its interchangeable use with other terms like participatory research and action research. Critics argue that this can be confusing for novice researchers.
Another challenge of participatory action research is the difficulty in ensuring the stakeholders (research subjects and community members) stay committed to the study throughout the project.
The diverse perspective and values of the community members can make it difficult to arrive at a consensus on what social issues require the most attention and the best way to approach them.
Participatory action research requires the researcher(s) to gain access and an in-depth understanding of the community of interest. This may be challenging, especially when the researcher is from a different cultural background.
Lastly, researchers using participatory action research for their study may have to prove the legitimacy of their approach to others, especially conventional researchers who are not familiar with this methodology. Critics of participatory action research often describe it as a soft method of research.
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References
Vaughn, L; Jacquez, F. (2020). Participatory Research Methods - Choice Points in the Research Process. Journal of Participatory Research Methods.
MacDonald, C. (2012). Understanding Participatory Action Research: A Qualitative Research Methodology Option. Canadian Journal of Action Research.
Amaya, A; Yeates, N. (2014). Participatory Action Research: New Uses, New Contexts and New Challenges. PRARI Working Paper
Watters, J; Comeau, S; Restall, G. (2010). Participatory Action Research: An educational tool for citizen-users of community mental health services. School of Medical Rehabilitation. University of Manitoba.
