1. Participatory Action Research An Introduction to a Research Approach Rachel Casey 19 June 2015

2. Presentation Overview Participatory Action Research = PAR  What is PAR?  What is PAR all about?  How does PAR happen?  What methods are used in PAR?  What are possible products of PAR?  What are the pros and cons to PAR?  How could PAR work for us?  What do you think?  Additional resources Please ask questions anytime! Discussions are way more interesting than presentations!

3. What is Participatory Action Research?  PAR is an approach to research that brings together researchers and community members:  To identify problems that the community faces  To empower community members to research and create solutions to those problems  To improve conditions in the community

4. What is PAR all about?  PAR emphasizes collaboration between researchers and community members  Community members are partners in research, not subjects of research  Research focuses on questions that the community thinks are important to investigate  PAR focuses on creating social change  The ultimate goal of research is meaningful change in the community  PAR works to empower community members through their participation in social action

5. How does PAR happen? PlanActObserveReflect  PAR uses a cyclical process  Reflecting as a group on how the research is going  Planning the research activities and next steps  Acting out the planned research activities  Observing the collected data and research process

6. What methods are used in PAR?  Surveys  Observations  Interviews  Focus groups  Community meetings  Photovoice

7. What are possible products of PAR?  PAR presents research findings in ways that will engage community members and other stakeholders and prompt social change:  Powerpoint or poster presentation  YouTube video or documentary  Art installation or exhibit  Theatrical production  Publication in an academic journal  Presentation at an academic or industry conference  Anything else the collaborators choose!

8. What are the pros and cons to PAR? Pros  Produces practical outcomes  Focus on positive change  Involves community participation Cons  Big commitment of time and effort  Research goals not always feasible  Process can be messy and take a long time

9. How could PAR work for us?  Form a research team of interested community members  Research team members would meet on a regular basis  Research team members would receive training in research ethics and methods  Reflect and decide upon research question that is important to community  This conversation could happen with the research team or during a community meeting  Possible research question: What resources do reentering women need?  Plan a research approach that will answer that question  Possibilities include questionnaires, focus groups, and interviews  Collect data using the chosen research approach  Analyze the data to generate research findings  This could be a collective process or one that is delegated to the academic researcher  Share the research findings with community members and stakeholders

10. What do you think?  What other information would you like to have about PAR?  What do you like about PAR? What do you dislike about PAR?  Do you think PAR might work for our group? Why or why not?  What concerns do you have about PAR?

11. Additional Resources Keep learning about PAR on your own by checking out these links  https://participaction.wordpress.com/ https://participaction.wordpress.com/  http://www.svfreenyc.org/research_factsheet_119.html http://www.svfreenyc.org/research_factsheet_119.html  http://www.academia.edu/3563840/Participatory_Action_Research http://www.academia.edu/3563840/Participatory_Action_Research  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2566051/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2566051/  http://www.qualitative-research.net/index.php/fqs/article/view/1801/3334 http://www.qualitative-research.net/index.php/fqs/article/view/1801/3334