Doing research with people: Approaches to participatory research, an introduction

Abstract

The inspiration for this manual came from the World Congress on Participatory Action Research held in Cartagena, Columbia, (June 1-5 1997) where people from over 30 countries gathered to discuss participatory approaches to research, education and social development. The experience for most of those present was an eye-opener. It revealed that although the term ‘participation’ has varied connotations and participatory approaches or methodologies have been developed in response to different contexts and situations, yet the opportunities for convergence-to discuss, to share and learn from each others experiences - are immense. The contents of this manual trace the roots, principles and practices of four well known participatory research approaches: Participatory Research (PR), Participatory Action Research (PAR), Action Research (AR) and Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA). The manual has been organised in such a way that information about each approach can be read separately or in conjunction to the other approaches - just like reality itself ! Each section includes a description of the approach and a case study designed to be used in training situations. This information has been compiled from a wide range of sources. In order to keep the manual simple and straightforward, the references have been listed at the end.