STAY IN THE HIMALAYAN MOUNTAINS FOR HEALTH, PEACE, AND YOGA
Participatory research focuses on a process of sequential reflection and action, carried out with and by local people rather than on them. In participatory research, participants have control over the research agenda, the process and actions. In participatory research, the subjects, usually oppressed or exploited groups, are fully involved in the research, from the designing of topics to the analysis of data. The findings of participatory research are useful and emancipatory. As community-based participatory research matures, tensions have become recognized that challenge the mutuality of the research relationship, and the role of research in social change.
The International Collaboration for Participatory Health Research was created in 2009 as a place to bring together internationally the application of participatory research approaches to address health issues. Participatory Health Research is done in many different countries and under widely varying conditions. Participatory Health Research is often viewed as being a means for achieving positive transformation in society in the interest of people's health, for example by changing the way health professionals are educated, the way health care institutions work, and the politics and policies affecting the health of society. Although qualitative research and Participatory Health Research are distinct, each is an open-ended project which resists attempts to impose a single, umbrella-like paradigm over the entire project. (Denzin & Lincoln 2011). Participatory Health Research, and participatory research more generally, cannot be confined to a narrow set of epistemological principles (Fals-Borda & Rahman 1991). Part of Participatory Health Research richness and appeal is the range of paradigms, strategies of inquiry, and methods of analysis that researchers can draw upon and utilize.
Participatory Research In Education. Unpacking Participatory Research in Education. - Helen P. Hansen, Jennaya Ramstead, Stephen Richer, Susan Smith, Mary Stratton. Abstract: The authors of this paper are members of Ottawa Participatory Researchers in Education. The paper examines and problematizes three elements typically ascribed to non-traditional research approaches: a social action focus, a transformative objective, and a participatory research process. Particular emphasis is placed on the questions of who participates. It is argued that in order to further a democratic research process, equality of opportunity to participate cannot be assumed at any stage of the research process.
Research as Social Work: Participatory Research in Learning Disability. Dorothy Atkinson, Professor of learning disability in the School of Health and Social Welfare at The Open University. This paper turns the argument around and looks at how research can come to look and feel like social work. This happens particularly in participatory research in the learning-disability field. Drawing on the participatory research methodology literature, and her own oral and life-history research, the author explores the areas in which research comes to emulate social-work practice.
A Personal Position Paper on Participatory Research: Personal Quest for Living Knowledge - Marja-Liisa Swantz. This article is a personal position paper in which the author presents thoughts about participatory research as they evolved during years of search for "living knowledge." The author weaves together experiences gathered from her work in two regions of Tanzania and a personal history to make conclusions about and derive implications for participatory research.
Are Academics Irrelevant? - Roles for Scholars in Participatory Research - RANDY STOECKER. Interest in participatory research has exploded over the past decade. Academics seem to follow three approaches in participatory research: the initiator, the consultant, and the collaborator. After discussing the approaches, this article argues that doing the research is not a goal in itself but only a means. Participatory research is actually part of a larger community change project that is dependent on four roles: "animator," community organizer, popular educator, and participatory researcher.
Participatory Research A Complementary Research Approach in Public Health -
Bengt Starrin and Per-Gunnar Svensson.
The aim of this article is to describe basic feature of participatory research and to
discuss its merits and drawbacks in social studies. Traditional research methods exclude
persons who serve as research subjects from active involvement in all phases of a research
project. Participatory research is one way to give people a chance to participate fully in
the research process.
Women shaping participatory research to their own needs -
Karen Dullea.
Participatory research should be guided by the needs and interests of those
involved and what they are willing and capable of doing, at that point in time,
in order to address oppressive circumstances. A deeply wounding oppression many
women experience is that of male-perpetrated physical and sexual violence. Women
participating in participatory research aimed at their needs may steer it in the
direction of opening up a safe, emotionally supportive space where they can talk
about what they have experienced.
Can participatory research be a route to empowerment? A case study of a
disadvantaged Scottish community - Mike Titterton, Helen Smart.
Abstract: The growth of participatory research in recent years has been notable. Problems of definition and key challenges for
undertaking participatory research are reviewed based upon work undertaken in a deprived
community in Scotland. Opportunities exist for researchers and community developers
together to develop participatory approaches. The
authors conclude that participatory research merits close attention as long as its
difficulties are acknowledged.
ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF A PARTICIPATORY, RESEARCH-ORIENTED PROJECT: RESULTS OF A
SURVEY - G. Buenavista, I. Coxhead, and K. Kim.
Abstract: If project evaluation is difficult, assessing the impact of a research project
is very difficult, and to do so for a participatory rural development project utilizing
non-formal locally-based methods of information exchange is highly
problematic. We
conclude that a participatory research approach to research design and implementation, as
followed in the project under examination, is an effective means to transfer information
to and among farmers, thus reducing the subjective costs of adopting new practices.
Engaging in participatory research: some personal reflections - R.
Northway. The need for critical self-reflection by researchers engaging in disability research has
been widely recognized. This paper seeks to contribute to this area of knowledge by reflecting on
the author's experience of engaging in a research project that has sought to use a
participatory research approach.
Considering More Feminist Participatory Research: What's Congruency Got to Do With
It? - Patricia Maguire. The article proposes that there cannot be truly emancipatory participatory research or
participatory research advocates without explicit incorporation of feminist perspectives.
As part of the larger dialogue regarding taking sides through research, the author asks us
to consider a more feminist participatory research. After defining
feminism, the article briefly
identifies the androcentric and incongruous aspects of participatory research. It con
cludes with specific areas for discussion if we are to consider more feminist
participatory research.
Activist Participatory Research Among the Maya of Guatemala: Constructing Meanings
from Situated Knowledge - M. Brinton Lykes. Abstract: In this article,
I analyze two separate experiences with the Maya in rural communities within
Guatemala and discuss strengths and limitations of Participatory Action Research
within this context. I explore, with my Maya colleagues, alternative
methodologies for "standing under" these realities from this position of
"other." I conclude the essay with a brief discussion of selected criteria that
contribute to evaluating participatory research strategies, and a summary of current
efforts to extend this praxis from situations of ongoing violence in Guatemala to more
local sites, like Boston, Massachusetts.
Ending Participatory Research?
Ruth Northway. Traditionally, ‘ending’ research is a stage in the research process that is not
widely explored. Some concerns have been expressed regarding the
effects that ending participatory research may have on some people with learning
disabilities. Some key implications are considered and an argument is put
forward that researchers should consider these implications before commencing
work on participatory research projects.
Using Community-Based Participatory Research to Address Health Disparities -
Nina B. Wallerstein, Bonnie Duran.
Community-based participatory research has emerged in the past decades as an
alternative research paradigm, which integrates education and social action to
improve health and reduce health disparities. More than a set of research
methods, community-based participatory research is an orientation to research
that focuses on relationships between academic and community partners, with
principles of colearning, mutual benefit, and long-term commitment and
incorporates community theories, participation, and practices into the research
efforts.
Research Methods - How to use participatory action research in primary care
Gert JO Marincowitz. Objective. The aim of the article is to demonstrate the
usefulness of participatory action research in primary care. The author used PAR firstly to develop a deeper
understanding of mutual participation in the doctor–patient encounter and secondly to
apply this learning in a rural cross-cultural practice setting.
Community-Based Participatory Research in Practice-Based Research Networks
- John M. Westfall, MD, MPH; Rebecca F. VanVorst, MSPH; Deborah S. Main, PhD; Carol
Herbert, MD.
Abstract: We wanted to describe community-based participatory research in practice-based
research networks in the United States.
Conclusion: While perhaps not meeting the classical definition of CBPR, some PBRNs are
involving community members and patients in their participatory research. There is a wide
spectrum of involvement by community members in PBRN research. Many PBRNs reported plans
to involve community members in their participatory research. We believe that community
involvement will enhance PBRN research.
Community-Based Participatory Research: Assessing the Evidence. Objectives: To systematically review the literature on
health-related community-based participatory research. Community-based participatory research aims to
bridge the gap between knowledge produced through research and practices used in
communities to improve health. The key
questions:
What defines community-based participatory research? How has
community-based participatory research been implemented to date with regard to the quality of research methodology
and community involvement? What is the evidence that community-based participatory research efforts have resulted in the intended outcomes? What
criteria and processes should be used for review of community-based
participatory research in grant proposals?
ATECAR: An Asian American Community-Based Participatory Research Model on Tobacco
and Cancer Control - Grace X. Ma, PhD, CHES, Jamil I. Toubbeh,
PhD, Xuefen Su, MPH (C), Rosita L. Edwards, MA.
Community-based participatory research, which underscores the
indispensable role of the community in all phases of the research process, has been
recognized as a viable approach to working constructively with communities to achieve
mutually beneficial goals.