Participatory Research

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    Reconnecting society and science: Trajectories of the knowledge democracy movement
    (Sage, 2026-02-12) Tandon, Rajesh
    As interrelated global wicked problems increasingly engulf all sections of life on this planet, searching for knowledge solutions to address them has become urgent. While scientists in modern science establishments (labs) are busy finding answers to COVID (and other pandemics) and climate disruptions, communities and societies continue to struggle and use their own wisdom and capacity to find meaningful measures for local adaptations. This disconnect between societal actors and science has become critical. So, professional science communicators have critical responsibilities for rebuilding mutually respectful connections between society (and its diverse actors) and science. How can science communicators play such important roles in bridging society and science? Let me illustrate the ways it is being attempted in diverse contexts.
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    Doing participatory research: A feminist approach
    (Center for International Education, University of Massachusetts., 2000) Maguire, Patricia
    In this text the author traces her beginnings as a student researcher trying to understand the biases of traditional research by engaging in participatory research with a group of battered women in Gallup, New Mexico. Using Paulo Freire's concept of dialogue, Pat talks with former battered women in their kitchens, transcribes the interviews and presents the women in their own words. Together they move through a cycle of reflection and action, reaching for a solution to the problem-how to move forward after living with violent men. This highly creative work will involve the reader in theory and practice.
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    Education for women's empowerment
    (ASPBAE, 1996) Batliwala, Srilatha
    Education for Women’s Empowerment reflects on education as a means to challenge gender inequality and advance women’s empowerment. The paper states that women’s empowerment requires overcoming social, economic, political, and cultural relations and structures that undermine women. Education for literacy, basic and women’s rights, self-reliance, citizenship, reproductive health, critical thinking, and self-determination are presented as pivotal forces for social change. The paper is a call for decentralizing and democratizing education, engaging women and their communities, integrating traditional knowledge, gender-responsive curricula, and training materials, and enhancing the role of NGOs and civil society in education. It also calls for advocacy, networking, monitoring, and evaluation, and participatory approaches to research, as well as strategies for policy implementation at various levels. To advance women’s empowerment, the paper suggests that education can contribute to enhancing women’s participation, voice, resources, and control and promote gender justice and social change.
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    Participatory impact assessment: Final report on a two-year pilot programme in South Asia and the Pacific
    (Voluntary Agency Support Scheme (VASS), 2003-06) Clark, Kevin; Quinn, Marion
    How can development interventions become more accountable to the communities they engage with? This report presents the findings and lessons from a two-year Participatory Impact Assessment pilot programme carried out across South Asia and the Pacific with New Zealand NGOs, their regional partners, and local communities. Its central argument is that impact assessment must move beyond measuring short term outputs to understanding long term social change through the active participation of primary stakeholders at every stage of the project cycle. Across multiple case studies involving women’s empowerment, livelihoods, peacebuilding, and community facilitation, the report illustrates how communities can identify indicators, analyse change, and shape future directions of programmes themselves. It highlights key themes such as partnership, stakeholder involvement, gender justice, institutional learning, and the use of participatory tools including mapping, ranking, theatre, focus groups, seasonal analysis, and interviews. The report consistently emphasises that evaluation is not merely a technical review but a democratic and empowering process through which ownership is strengthened, unintended impacts are surfaced, and organisational accountability is deepened
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    The village women cooperatives store: A case participatory research in a Korean village
    (1980) Cheong, Ji Woong
    This case study focuses on the role of the women’s club in the development of the rural community of Bangchuk village, South Korea, as part of the Rural Development Laboratory Project of Seoul National University. The village was characterized by low income, lack of infrastructure, poor coordination, and internal conflicts. Although there was an established number of formal and informal community groups, most of them were inactive, and women’s involvement was limited. Through field survey research in 1975, the current study explored how the women’s club was organized and manifested its developmental role. Particular attention was paid to developmental issues such as cooperation activities, economic and educational aspects, family planning, and the mobilization of women’s participation in the club activities to promote the well-being of the community. The case study provides evidence of how the women’s club organization and collective action promoted community development. It also demonstrates the importance of both the researcher’s cooperation with the community and his/her participation in the development mobilization process to harness local human resources for the empowerment of the community. The women’s collective organization in Bangchuk village is considered an effective way to promote community development and improve the quality of life of its residents.
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    Lived realities of women sanitation workers in india insights from a participatory research conducted in three cities of India
    (Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA), 2019-06) Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA)
    This paper is about the everyday lives of women sanitation workers in Ajmer, Jhansi and Muzaffarpur, drawn from a 2018 participatory study of 206 women conducted under PRIA's Engaged Citizens Responsive City initiative. The paper traces how poverty, caste and gender intersect in the accounts gathered, alongside a fourth thread - the role education, or its absence, plays in keeping these women locked into sanitation work across generations. Interviews, focus group discussions, shadowing exercises and daily logs shaped the research, and the paper stays close to the women's own words rather than smoothing them into policy language. It documents that contractual and outsourced workers earn far less than permanent staff for the same labour, often without safety gear, payslips or basic awareness of laws meant to protect them. It records how discrimination based on touch continues in subtler, everyday forms. The paper closes with recommendations for government bodies and civil society, covering wage parity, grievance redress and community-level steps toward recognition and dignity.