Participatory Action Research
Christina Hughes, University of Warwick and
Jocey Quinn, Plymouth University
Participatory Action Research
What
Why
A Case of Challenges
But what if also …
The What of PAR
With, not on or for: Offers a democratic model of research by arguing
for the significance, and the usefulness of involving those concerned
about or affected by an issue as research partners in the knowledgeproduction process.
Expectation of change/action: Anticipation that the knowledge
produced will be acted upon to improve practice/outcomes. The
change/action cycle can be understood as a circle (closed action at the
end of a project) or spiral (ongoing action as repeated
adjustments/evaluations are made)
Methodologically eclectic: methodological tools for data collection can
be diverse
The Why of PAR
• Rights: Winning back the right to name their worlds
(Freire, 1970)
• Recognition: the fundamental importance of relationship,
interdependence and intersubjectivity to human
development, and of non-instrumental social relations
involving recognition by a circle of partners in all phases
and spheres of life to the development of an autonomous
self, individuation, moral subjectivity and agency (Hooper
and Gunn, 2014).
Case Example: Methodological Challenges of Workin
with Children through
participatory video (Lomax et al, 2011)
Looking with: .... participatory video
demands critical attention to the exercise of
power within research relationships, it
challenges us to explore reflexive ways that
enable us to ‘join with another, to see
together without claiming to be another’.
(Kindon, 2003: 146, in Lomax et al, 2011)
Tensions
Constantly aware of how the ‘constellation of
theoretical interests, methodological
concerns and personal anxieties might have
shaped the nature of the children’s
participation and the ‘final cut’ of their video’
(Lomax et al 2011: 233).
But what if also: Working with the
non-verbal
‘Language has been granted too much
power’, (Barad, 2003: 801)
Beyond Words collaboration between
Plymouth Institute of Education and
Plymouth Music Zone, funded by Arts Council
Research Grants Programme
The Beyond Words Project
B. Research Questions
How do PMZ Music Leaders include and make music with those
whose communication is non-verbal?
What role does the ‘unspoken’ play in inclusive music
leadership overall?
What are the implications of addressing the ‘unspoken’ for
inclusive practice across the Arts sector and how can this also
help practitioners in the fields of Health and Education?
How does post-human theory help illuminate this process? What
does this study add to the field of post-human theory?
The Beyond Words Project
C. Methodology
Six inter-related elements:
• A 16-month ethnographic case
study with 50 participants.
• Visual methodologies with nonverbal participants
• 100 In-depth interviews with family
members/support workers of
participants.
• Focus groups with music leaders
and volunteers.
The Beyond
Words Project
Progress so far
• 36 Observations
sessions
• 15 people identified as
core participants with
their network of
intimacy
• Draft literature review
• Focus groups with music
leaders and volunteers
• Ethics log, ethics
clearance
• Researcher’s reflective
diary
I catch the pattern
Of your silence
Before you speak
I do not need
To hear a word.
In your silence
Every tone I seek
Is heard.
Langston Hughes
Further Resources
University of Durham PAR Toolkit: https://www.dur.ac.uk/resources/beacon/PARtoolkit.pdf
Bibliography
Bergold, J and Thomas, S (2012) Participatory Research Methods: A Methodological Approach in Motion, Qualitative
Social Research, 13(1) (Editorial, Special Issue)
Hooper, C-A and Gunn, R (2014) Recognition as a framework for ethical participatory research: developing a methodology
with looked after young people,
International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 17(5)
Lomax, H, Fink, J, Singh, N and High, C (2011) The politics of performance: methodological challenges of researching
children’s experiences of childhood through the lens of participatory video, International Journal of Social Research
Methodology, 1493): 231-243
Quinn, J Beyond words. the unspoken/non-verbal in inclusive music practice; implications for the arts in a post-human
world'. We will work with non-verbal people with dementia, autism, strokes using posthuman methodology, Arts
Council/University of Plymouth/Plymouth Music Zone
Rath, J (2012) Poetry and Participation: Scripting a Meaningful Research Text with Rape Crisis Workers, Qualitative Social
Research, 13(1)