Researching Social Problems by Amir Marvasti A. Javier Treviño

Author:Amir Marvasti, A. Javier Treviño [Amir Marvasti, A. Javier Treviño]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781138091733
Barnesnoble:
Goodreads: 44142168
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2019-06-25T00:00:00+00:00

PAR research design: a multi-phase approach

In this section, I give a general description of PAR design and provide guideposts for thinking through its progression. PAR projects consist of iterative cycles that advance in phases that intersect and influence each other. Drawing on Lewin’s self-reflective spirals of action, Kemmis and McTaggart (2007) have outlined an iterative spiral of self-reflective cycles that include: (a) planning a change, (b) acting and observing the process and consequences of the change, (c) reflecting on these processes and consequences, (d) re-planning, (e) acting and observing again, and (f) reflecting again (p. 276). In practice, the PAR spiral is open to revision and re-direction based on the knowledge emerging through the research.

This iterative research cycle can be divided into four phases: (1) pre-engagement and relationship building; (2) collective research design and data collection; (3) review and interpretation; and (4) knowledge dissemination and continued evolving engagement. During the first phase of pre-engagement, researchers commit a significant amount of time to building relationships and community as the foundation of the research collective.1 Kemmis et al. (2014) describe pre-engagement in terms of creating a public sphere through conversations—that may last hours or months—in order to foreground participation. Conversations take place with “the sole aim of discovering a shared felt concern that participants believe to be something that is (a) worth investigating and (b) worth acting on” (p. 149). Central to this phase is establishing an ethics of reciprocity and accountability to guide the collaboration. Reciprocity accentuates issues of power, privilege, cost, and benefits through research relationships that are based on knowledge sharing (Kirkness and Barnhardt 2001; Maiter, Simich, Jacobson, and Wise 2008). Drawing from Indigenous scholars is respect for indigenous knowledge, values, and beliefs that must be integrated into the participatory research to view local ways of knowing and action (see Kovach 2009; Smith 1999). This phase may be the most important aspect of the research cycle, especially if the researcher is an outsider to the community. The researcher’s first task is to learn from the community in order to determine whether the researcher, PAR, and the community are a good collaborative fit. Alternatively, a researcher could negotiate entry into a community by offering their resources, skills, and time to develop a PAR project with mutually decided goals, which would make the relationship even more reciprocal.

During this phase, the individuals and groups involved must earnestly grapple with the question of what is to be gained from the research (Fine and Torre 2006). Winn and Winn (2016) framed their youth PAR as a process of mutual engagement and reciprocity reflected through their directive of “we want this to be owned by you.”2 These ethics and relationships generate an agreement that outlines, for all stakeholders, practices of accountability, including expectations for data ownership and knowledge dissemination. In this first phase, research collectives establish goals and objectives.

The second phase consists of the evolving cycles of reflection and action. Working from collaboratively established goals, researchers support the learning and development of the community members as co-researchers.

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