Participation
Outline Version
Participatory approach aims to engage participants in the design, conduct and evaluation of research with the construction of non-hierarchical research relations (Zarb 2002)
- Research done with people rather than on people (Reason & Heron 1986)
- Equality in research relationships but not reject expert knowledge
- Ensure research owned by participants as well as researchers (Cornwell & Jewkes 1995:1667)
- Participants encouraged to own the outcome by setting the goals and sharing in decisions about processes (Everitt et al 1992:50)
- Make traditional research more effective and meaningful
- Ensure research owned by participants as well as researchers (Cornwell & Jewkes 1995:1667)
- Equality in research relationships but not reject expert knowledge
- Essential to be aware of the issues involved
- Need clarity of agreed aims and objectives as well as the roles of the researchers and participants. (Ward & Trigler 2001 Pg 58)
- An overemphasis on getting the process right in terms of inclusion, can lead to mistakes being made in locating methods to answer the questions." (Walmsley, 2004 Pg 32)
- Discuss and be aware of how the research may affect participants.
- Not the same as emancipatory research that is controlled by participants.
- Walmsley (2004) says it is widely accepted that, in contrast to emancipatory research, in participatory research, non-disabled people have an enduring role."
- Outcomes must be more than just reconstructed stories or mere validations of research undertaken (Duckett & Pratt, 2007)
- Participation at the outset will help reduce incorrect labelling (disability/ability) or assumptions being made as to learner preferences.
- Awareness of Funder's requirements & Time constraints affecting degree of participation and possible outcomes
- Chapell argues that "participatory research can be understood better as a pragmatic compromise between conflicting pressures on researchers". This is when compared to emancipatory research as described by Zarb (1992)
- Need clarity of agreed aims and objectives as well as the roles of the researchers and participants. (Ward & Trigler 2001 Pg 58)
- Semi-structured interviews - possibly not the right term
Link to the above mentioned articles and papers
Degrees of Participant Involvement
It is felt that the LExDis project is "Research-initiated, shared decisions with participants. The Researcher has the initial idea, but participants are involved in every step of the planning and implementation. Not only are their views considered, but participants are also involved in taking the decisions". (Fajerman & Treseder 2000)