Participatory Research: Methods and Practices

The participatory methods are focussed towards the planning and conducting the research process in the presence and involvement of people, those people whose life, world, actions and thoughts are under the process of research. As a consequence of this, the means and methods of enquiry and the different questions of research are created from the synchronisation of two different views and practices, involving both practice as well as science. Research bestows its benefits on both the sides. Practices that have been established as daily basis activities bring forth their own view point and perspective, always a new way to deal with a challenge. The participatory research process widens the horizons of the researcher and offers the freedom to co researchers to move beyond the limitations of standard routines, interactions in a more cognitive fashion. It helps to challenge and rework on established practices and interpretations. However, just by conducting participatory research, it is not ensured that there would be a convergence of science and practice. It is much more than that and a demanding process that is developed on two different spheres of action, both science and practice come into coherence with each other, interacts, develop lead to an understanding of each other.

The participatory method is an orientation of enquiry. Participatory research can be called a method that challenges concrete and fundamental research methods and supports the benefits of research that may lead to the involvement of the research partners to enhance productivity of knowledge. The approaches suggested for participatory research are not different and distinct from the standard empirical social procedures. The main characteristic of participatory research is it’s individuality and self-determination. It is not suggested and possible to canonize them in the form of a single, cohesive, methodological approach. Incorporation of processes is all the more important in participative research than in any other. If the purpose and desire is to gain a further deep understanding of the contextual structured of meaning and the dynamism that in embedded in social action, it becomes worthy to incorporate participatory research at the design stage itself.

To conclude, participatory research does pose certain questions in context to knowledge and research in a very radical fashion. It is so strong an area of research that it has the capacity to bring attention to the neglected areas of the methodology and kindle their further development.

The research has a vast number of designs available for investigations of the research objectives. A lot of topologies can be adopted for their classification. The classification that is followed across the world and is the easiest to comprehend is the one that depends upon the objective or purpose of the research. There are largely two types of researches, Exploratory and Conclusive. The design options are separate for both of them.

Exploratory Research Design:  The research design for exploratory research has the most lose structure. It has a very flexible approach and the investigation of the research has a more qualitative perspective.. Because of its not so concrete structure, the sample size does not represent much and may depend upon unstructured interviews.

The main reasons why an exploratory research is conducted are:

• Defining and conceptualising the problem to be investigated.
• Evaluation and exploring of the different opportunities available.
• Providing support in the conceptualisation and development of the hypotheses of the study.
• Putting in place the variables of the study and putting them into operation.
• Try to figure out the relationship that may exist between the dependant and independent variable that have been identified for the study.
• Explore all the external factors that may in some way have an impact on the research.

In a situation where the findings of the exploratory research are interesting and offer some vision, they may become the basis for a more concrete and structured research which would be able to establish the efficacy of different methods. Whatever may be the scientific orientation and objective of the study, in the case of exploratory research, the researcher is always able to establish methods and techniques that can be adopted for doing exploratory research. These methods and techniques could vary from secondary data sources, observations both structured and unstructured), Delphi techniques, focus group discussions with the chosen group of respondents. All these methods and techniques have their own relevance and significance that can be put to use at different times during the course of the exploratory research.  Thus, it can be said that this type of research is the most simplest to administer with the most advantageous results.

The participatory methods are focussed towards the planning and conducting the research process in the presence and involvement of people, those people whose life, world, actions and thoughts are under the process of research. As a consequence of this, the means and methods of enquiry and the different questions of research are created from the synchronisation of two different views and practices, involving both practice as well as science. Research bestows its benefits on both the sides. Practices that have been established as daily basis activities bring forth their own view point and perspective, always a new way to deal with a challenge. The participatory research process widens the horizons of the researcher and offers the freedom to co researchers to move beyond the limitations of standard routines, interactions in a more cognitive fashion. It helps to challenge and rework on established practices and interpretations. However, just by conducting participatory research, it is not ensured that there would be a convergence of science and practice. It is much more than that and a demanding process that is developed on two different spheres of action, both science and practice come into coherence with each other, interacts, develop lead to an understanding of each other.

The participatory method is an orientation of enquiry. Participatory research can be called a method that challenges concrete and fundamental research methods and supports the benefits of research that may lead to the involvement of the research partners to enhance productivity of knowledge. The approaches suggested for participatory research are not different and distinct from the standard empirical social procedures. The main characteristic of participatory research is it’s individuality and self-determination. It is not suggested and possible to canonize them in the form of a single, cohesive, methodological approach. Incorporation of processes is all the more important in participative research than in any other. If the purpose and desire is to gain a further deep understanding of the contextual structured of meaning and the dynamism that in embedded in social action, it becomes worthy to incorporate participatory research at the design stage itself.

To conclude, participatory research does pose certain questions in context to knowledge and research in a very radical fashion. It is so strong an area of research that it has the capacity to bring attention to the neglected areas of the methodology and kindle their further development.