Participatory Methods in Food Behaviour Research: A Framework Showing Advantages and Disadvantages of Various Methods

Abstract

A trend is visible in the food literature showing an increasing number of publications on studies that incorporate some form of participant engagement, such as citizen science and community-based participatory research. This “participation trend” will inevitably affect the scientific field of food behaviour research. This new trend is however not only associated with advantages, and a critical reflection on both the advantages and disadvantages is needed. The current article is a position paper that contributes to the literature in two main ways. First, participation is still in the developmental stage. Many different forms, methods and definitions are used. By providing a structured overview of a variety of participatory methods derived from a focused search of the literature on food behaviour, we aim to clarify the relationships between the various forms of participation methods. Second, the involvement of citizens in research is increasingly calling for novel research methods (e.g., voluntary recruitment and active involvement), which may be accompanied by both advantages and disadvantages. We add to the literature by developing a framework that indicates the advantages and disadvantages of participatory methods in food behaviour research. Our study highlights the relevance of differentiating the goal of the researcher (efficiency versus engagement) and the role of citizens (collecting versus creating), thus implying a trade-off between cost-effectiveness and involvement, as well as between data richness and data quality. Our work is a first effort to create structure and guidance within a new area. Our efforts could be used in future research aimed at developing more extensive protocols and tools for the application of participation in research, thereby offering a controlled manner to ensure that research stays abreast of our changing society.

Bean Cuisine: The Potential of Citizen Science to Help Motivate Changes in Pulse Knowledge and Consumption

“…This resulted in feedback that was not always pertinent to the recipe, as significant modifications were made on occasion. Indeed, data quality is a major concern in citizen scientist projects [14,31]. Yet, due to the nature and goal of this project, this type of feedback does not represent low data quality but rather shows increased external validity [31] because it reflects what happens in the home kitchen when people use recipes, as they are prone to modify to suit their tastes.…”

“…Indeed, data quality is a major concern in citizen scientist projects [14,31]. Yet, due to the nature and goal of this project, this type of feedback does not represent low data quality but rather shows increased external validity [31] because it reflects what happens in the home kitchen when people use recipes, as they are prone to modify to suit their tastes. The recipes nonetheless inspired people to try pulses in new ways, thereby expanding their awareness of versatile uses, and it was a more realistic way to test how recipes work in the home kitchen.…”

Participatory design of an infographic to help support the care of people living with complex regional pain syndrome

“…[15][16][17][18] Participatory design of educational resources to support people with health conditions gives consumers an active voice to positively influence care models, including elements such as the suitability and useability of educational material. [19][20][21] A participatory design process has previously been trialled for co-design of a Wiki page to provide an educational resource on the lived experience of CRPS, to complement material generated by health professionals. 22 Engagement of consumers in the Wiki was unsuccessful, but consumer engagement did assist with the co-creation of educational leaflets.…”