Relationships and the Research Process: Participatory Action Research and Social Work

Abstract

Social science research methods are experiencing a paradigm shift in that participatory research methods, in many cases relegated to second-class status, are gaining credibility as valid and legitimate ways to engage in scholarly and solid research. In social work, participatory research is one more way social workers can engage with participants as partners in the process of generating knowledge and transforming society. This article discusses a particular type of participatory research called Participatory Action Research (PAR). PAR is explained and an example of how PAR has been used is offered. This article offers a discussion of how PAR is consistent with the core values of social work, especially those values of partnership, relationship, and social change. Finally, the article offers social work researchers a framework for engaging in liberatory research.

Looking through the magnifying glass: A duoethnographic approach to understanding the value and process of participatory action research with LGBTQ youth

“…PAR is in line with social work values and principles (Barbera, 2008;Belcher et al, 2005;DePoy et al, 1999). As a form of liberatory research, PAR parallels traditional social work approaches of the settlement houses in the United States (Barbera, 2008), in which social workers and community members worked collectively to identify and address individual, family, and community-level issues through programs and advocacy. Social work research and practice are not mutually exclusive, and traditional clients/research subjects are engaged as partners in efforts for social change (Barbera, 2008).…”

“…Importantly, the group of people engaging in an action research process generally starts with very little information and seeks to better understand the issue at hand with the intention to act based on this knowledge (Dickens & Watkins, 1999). Concurrently, those participating in action research are reflecting on and learning about themselves and their own behavior (Barbera, 2008; Cahill, 2007; Dickens & Watkins, 1999). In this way, transformation can occur both at the micro and macro levels.…”

“…PAR shifts the power of knowledge creation in that the subjects become researchers. This shift is rooted in a belief that traditional research subjects, and in this case young people, have the capacity to conduct and analyze research, and plan and implement actions based on the findings (Akom et al., 2008; Barbera, 2008; Belcher et al., 2005; Cahill, 2007).…”

“…As a form of liberatory research, PAR parallels traditional social work approaches of the settlement houses in the United States (Barbera, 2008), in which social workers and community members worked collectively to identify and address individual, family, and community-level issues through programs and advocacy. Social work research and practice are not mutually exclusive, and traditional clients/research subjects are engaged as partners in efforts for social change (Barbera, 2008). The focus on action is in line with social work’s commitment to addressing inequality and social injustices (Belcher et al., 2005).…”

What Is Our “Epistemic Responsibility”? Reflections on Social Work’s Orientation in Yoga Therapy Research

“…6 1 Participatory action research, for example, firmly linked to the social work profession, 62 is designed "as a cyclical process of experiential learning and action" 56 committed to engaging with participants as partners in the process of generating knowledge. Consistent with the ethics of social work and yoga therapy, this type of research situates the research project within a particular social and historical context, 63 thus enabling the unveiling of the power structures that act as barriers to the epistemic agency of service users. Institutional ethnography 64 as an ontology and methodology represents another fertile mode of inquiry for both social workers and yoga therapists who conduct their work out of institutional settings.…”