Despite the rhetoric about the value of involving people in decisions that affect them, including in legal frameworks, such as the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, research ‘about’ and ‘on’ people is much more common than research ‘by’ people ‘with’ other people. This article looks at the latter – participatory research.
The dominant model of knowledge production is increasingly being questioned. This model is one where people in positions of political power or with academic expertise are the sole creators of knowledge. Social action movements show that people want to be listened to and their voices acted on. Increasingly, people’s voices are being heard and have power, as well as imperatives for their inclusion. Practitioners in this space, who have championed the importance of inclusion and participatory practice, are in a critical position to support participatory research as calls come for ‘how’ we carry out research with and by people and communities.
We wondered why it was seemingly ‘so hard’ to support people to do research and become knowledge creators themselves, and why groups were labelled as ‘hard to reach’ by researchers. For us, the answer lay, in part, in the classic practice-knowledge divide. Practitioners we spoke to felt skilled at working with people in groups and communities but were not confident in their abilities to support a research process. They felt they did not have research expertise, skills and knowledge. Yet, they have exactly the skills needed to work with people and communities in an inclusive, engaging and power-balancing way. Many front-line practitioners have limited research training and what they do receive can often be statistically biased. Knowing the common approaches to participatory research, key decision points and issues is important as this endeavour is not risk free. We do not want to raise expectations inappropriately, overuse people’s time and energy, run out of resources or inadvertently expose a participant to risk. All of these can be avoided with a clear structure for discussion and planning.
Conversely, academics we spoke to said they were confident in research conventions and methods but did not feel skilled enough to create rapport with communities, build trust or manage very fluid projects. In this situation an academic might, unfortunately, use overcomplicated language with communities, expect too much of them, dominate decision making and unknowingly ‘own’ the research. Awareness of the nuances of working with groups and communities, and ideas for participatory approaches can support a meaningful and co-produced approach for all.
These conversations were the impetus for us to think about how to make research knowledge accessible to practitioners. We wanted to demystify research, making it much more straightforward without making it ‘easy’. This is a contribution to knowledge democracy, giving practitioners access to research knowledge, and ultimately making a critical contribution in progressing this changing research space.
We hope practitioners with this overview are then confident to work with and research with groups and communities generating their own knowledge. Here are some of our top tips for doing participatory research with groups and communities.
Relationships matter more than anything else. The ‘team’ of practitioners, researchers and community members must develop mutual trust and respect. This will build gradually over time and cannot be rushed. Taking small steps, fulfilling promises and making truly joint decisions will all pave the way to higher levels of trust.
Communicate constantly. Communication is the fuel of relationships. Keep communicating clearly to avoid misunderstandings and unhelpful assumptions. One of the strengths of participatory research is the blending of life experience – but that can only happen if communication is strong.
Power matters. While it is impossible to get rid of power altogether, it should be acknowledged and addressed in an ongoing reflective process. This will involve making sure that everyone can contribute, everyone is valued and no single voice or perspective dominates.
Learn together. One way to demonstrate you truly are all ‘in it together’ is to ensure you are all learning together. That can include learning about how to do the research together, learning about one another and how to work together, and learning about the topic you are researching.
Expect mess. One of the characteristics of participatory research is that it can be messy. By this we mean that decisions might change, roles move, timelines shift. That is most likely a hallmark of high-quality participatory research rather than meaning you have got it wrong.
Make it meaningful. If people are investing their time and energy together in a project and committing to generating knowledge, there must be some benefit. From the very outset, plan how you can all ensure the research is meaningful to the group and how you can use it to effect positive change. When people see social action as a result of their work, they are more likely to feel confidence in their ability to influence and to take part again.
The more participatory research that is conducted the more will be ‘published’. By that we mean all forms of publication – online, in magazines, on websites, on stage, in galleries. The more society sees this form of research and its impact, the more it will be accepted. And the more acceptance there is of participatory research, the more this form of knowledge will inform decisions. For us, it is not only a passion, but a moral obligation, and we hope you will join us in this socially just form of research.
Kaz Stuart is Director of Strategy and Learning at The Centre for Youth Impact and Honorary Professor at the University of Cumbria.
Lucy Maynard is Principal at The Australian Centre for Social Innovation and Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Cumbria.
The Practitioner Guide to Participatory Research with Groups and Communities by Kaz Stuart and Lucy Maynard is available on the Bristol University Press website. Preorder here for £16.99.
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