Doing participatory action research in community projects

 

Encouraging participation

 

Stronger Families Learning Exchange resources

Munt, R
Building collaboration.
Stronger Families Learning Exchange Bulletin no.3 Winter 2003: 6-8, figure, and Online
http://www.aifs.gov.au/sf/pubs/bull3/rm.html

Building collaborative relationships in the context of Stronger Families Fund (SFF) projects is both an integral aspect of action research and supported by the key Agreed Program Principles for the Stronger Families and Communities Strategy. This article explores some of the key dimensions of these principles in the context of SFF projects at a community level, and presents a number of tools for negotiating, building and sustaining collaborative relationships. (Journal abstract)

Munt, R
Building community participation.
Stronger Families Learning Exchange Bulletin no.2 Spring - Summer 2002: 3-5, and Online
http://www.aifs.gov.au/sf/pubs/bull2/rm.html

Building community participation and involvement, a key element of action research, is likely to ensure community 'ownership' of a project, suit local circumstances, and increase a project's sustainability. However, developing and maintaining

What the Australian literature has to say:

Bolitho, J; Garrow, A
Reflections on being a community representative.
Stronger Families Learning Exchange Bulletin no.3 Winter 2003: 9-10, and Online
http://www.aifs.gov.au/sf/pubs/bull3/jb.html

While there are many ways to be an active participant in a project, one common way is to be a member of a committee. In this article the authors draw on their individual experiences as community representatives over the years, and their shared experience as the only community representatives on a local government committee for a large geographical area. (Journal abstract)

Dick, B
Structured focus groups.
ALAR Journal v.8 no.1 Apr 2003: 33-49, figures

The author discusses structured focus groups, a form of group discussion in which a facilitator asks open ended questions to trigger discussion amongst a panel. In this type of focus group, the facilitator provides less guidance and the process is more structured than usual. He describes conventional focus groups and action research and then explains in detail how structured focus groups work in the context of action research.

Gibbs, A
Social work and empowerment-based research: possibilities, process and questions.
Australian Social Work v.54 no.1 Mar 2001: 29-39

Social work research, emphasising the use of rigorous, scientific and evidence-based approaches, has a tendency to exclude the subjects or participants of research, from either acting in co-researcher capacity, or from significantly influencing the course that research involving them will take. This article highlights the need for an inclusive approach with an aim to empower participants, through their greater participation in and decision-making control over research. Three specific research strategies are discussed to illustrate empowerment-based research in social work: action research, collaborative enquiry, and kaupapa Maori research (where Maori self-determination and constructions of knowledge are the starting points for research). The article discusses the possibilities and process of empowerment-based research in social work and highlights the emerging issues for researchers using this approach. (Journal abstract)

Ivanitz, M
Culture, ethics and participatory methodology in cross-cultural research.
Australian Aboriginal Studies no.2 1999: 46-58

The purpose of this paper is to identify methodological issues and approaches that are relevant to the use of research methods that are sound from both Aboriginal and academic perspectives. The practical ambivalence of doing fieldwork with human beings who have their own ideas of how fieldwork should progress and about how research results should be used is taken into account. Issues discussed include: culture as a foundation; ethics and methodology; action research approach; participatory research methods; the collective, the individual and participation; and where the control rests.

Mears, J
It's my life now: older women speak up about violence.
In: Expanding Our Horizons: Understanding the Complexities of Violence Against Women - International Conference, February 2002, University of Sydney - Conference papers. Kensington, NSW: Australian Domestic and Family Violence Clearinghouse, University of New South Wales, 2002, 11p, Online only (PDF 147K)
http://www.austdvclearinghouse.unsw.edu.au/Conference%20papers/Exp-horiz/Mears.pdf

Little work has been done documenting and listening to the stories of older women and their experiences of violence, states the author. In this paper, she reports on the first stage of an action research project that focused on the stories older women told of how they survived violence and abuse. Over two hundred women were involved in this first stage. The paper focuses on the themes of surviving and getting help, leaving the violence, and independence and empowerment. The author states that it is clear from this research that violence and abuse has long lasting effects. The research also demonstrates the importance of sharing stories.

Pyett, P
Working together to reduce health inequalities: reflections on a collaborative participatory approach to health research.
Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health v.26 no.4 Aug 2002: 332-336

With mounting evidence that health problems are related to social inequalities, health researchers increasingly need to engage with disadvantaged and marginalised groups. These groups can present specific challenges to conventional research methods. This paper reflects on the need for health researchers to meet these challenges in order to gain a deeper understanding of the ways in which social disadvantage affects people's health, and to develop appropriate interventions for these groups. Models of collaborative, participatory and action research are defined on a continuum. The value of a collaborative participatory approach to health research is discussed. Key processes in collaboration are outlined, and some of the methodological tensions and ethical issues that arise when using such an approach are addressed. The recognition that power is directly related to knowledge lies at the heart of the collaborative participatory research project. Collaborative participatory research offers a strategy that embraces self determination, encourages and even demands ongoing consultation and negotiation, and provides opportunities for capacity building and empowerment in the communities involved in the research. Nowhere is such a strategy more needed in Australia today than for research with Indigenous communities. (Journal abstract)

Salisbury, C
A health service and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander partnership to develop and plan mental health services.
Australian Journal of Primary Health - Interchange v.4 no.4 1998: 18-30, figures

The aim of this study was to examine the effects of an action research partnership between the Tweed Valley Health Service (TVHS) and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community for the development and delivery of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mental health services. This partnership was based upon Labonte's (1989) view of empowerment where it is suggested that to be empowered means to have increased capacity to define, analyse and act upon one's problems. It was proposed that the establishment of a 'partnership' based upon these principles would assist in operationalising indigenous community participation in TVHS planning. To achieve this type of 'partnership', the health service had to be willing to enter the partnership and to give the authority to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Outcome Council to seek and trial solutions on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mental health matters. Key outcomes were defined as the extent to which the re-organised services proved to be acceptable and utilised by the local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population. Outcomes were operationalised through measures of service utilisation and consumer satisfaction with accessibility, process and outcomes. The study trialed participatory action research 'as a method for indigenous participation in mental health service planning and development and concludes that it is a valid model for cross cultural research and health service development in a complex medical setting. (Journal abstract)

Uhlmann, V
Consulting on a consultation protocol: a project where the means were as important as the end.
Brisbane, Qld: Action Learning Action Research and Process Management Association, Prosperity Press, and Interchange, 1994, 73p (Action research case study series monograph no.1)

This book is based on the author's experience with an action research approach when working on a 1991 consultation protocol project being conducted by the Social Policy Unit of the Office of Cabinet in Queensland which aimed to produce guidelines for consulting with stakeholders which could be used by all state government departments. She explains that she has written it for people, whether government or community, who are interested in ways in which the community can meaningfully participate in government decision making, and possibly have more control over their own lives. The author argues the case for stakeholder involvement, describes the consultation protocol project, discusses evaluation, and reflects on what she learned.

Willcox, J; Zuber-Skerritt, O
Using the Zing team learning system (TLS) as an electronic method for the Nominal Group Technique (NGT).
ALAR Journal v.8 no.1 Apr 2003: 59-73

The Nominal Group Technique (NGT) is a proven effective qualitative method for gathering feedback from a group of people. The Zing team learning system (TLS) electronically records group members' brainstorming, categorising and prioritising ideas on a viewing screen. The authors describe how they used these techniques together in a series of ALARPM (Action Learning, Action Research and Process Management) workshops. They argue that TLS is useful in various qualitative process management techniques that require a collaborative approach to enquiry, planning, analysis and decision making.

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