Although feminist researchers have increasingly called for participatory and action-oriented research, there have been few analyses of the diverse actions that can occur. We theorized the actions considered and implemented in a feminist participatory action research project (FPAR). For three years we collaborated intensively with a group of diverse women on low income who were involved in a FPAR project designed to reduce social isolation and other self-identified health problems. Our data set included tape recordings of 32 one-on-one interviews, 15 research meetings, and extensive fieldnotes. Our findings indicated that actions occurred on both individual and collective levels; some had been enacted prior to the project and were shared to promote ongoing or new actions, while others arose as a consequence of the women’s involvement in the project. Additionally, some actions were implemented and actualized while others, though discussed at length, remained hopes for the future. While the research participants reported the benefits of being involved in such projects, they also spoke of the potential risks. Our findings revealed the complexities of taking action in FPAR and highlight important considerations for others wishing to engage in this type of research.
Barazangi, N. H. (2004). Understanding Muslim women’s self-identity and resistance to feminism and participatory action research. In M. Brydon-Miller , P. Maguire P. , & McIntyre, A. (Eds.), Traveling companions: Feminism, teaching, and action research (pp. 21-39). Westport, CT: Praeger .
2.
Brabeck, K. (2004). Testimonio: Bridging feminist and participatory action research principles to create new space of collectivity. In M. Brydon-Miller , P. Maguire, P. & McIntyre, A. (Eds.), Traveling companions: Feminism, teaching, and action research (pp. 41-53). Westport, CT: Praeger .
3.
Brydon-Miller, M. (2004). The terrifying truth: Interrogating systems of power and privilege and choosing to act. In M. Brydon-Miller , P. Maguire, P. & A. McIntyre, A. (Eds.), Traveling companions: Feminism, teaching, and action research (pp. 3-19). Westport, CT: Praeger .
4.
Chrisp, J. (2004). The negotiation of divergent demands when community research is located in the academy: The mother-adolescent son project. In M. Brydon-Miller , P. Maguire & A. McIntyre (Eds.), Traveling Companions: Feminism, Teaching, and Action Research (pp. 79-95). Westport CN, Praeger .
5.
Comstock, D. E. , & Fox, R. (1993). Participatory research as critical theory: The North Bonneville, USA, experience. In P. Park , M. Brydon-Miller , B. Hall & T. Jackson (Eds.), Voices of change: Participatory research in U.S. and Canada (pp. 103-124). London: Bergin and Garvey .
6.
Denzin, N. K. , & Lincoln, Y. S. (Eds.). (1994). Handbook of qualitative research. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE .
7.
Friends of Women and Children in B.C. (2002). 15 July report card. 1 (4), 1-2. Vancouver, BC.
8.
Frisby, W. , Reid, C. , Millar, S. , & Hoeber, L. (2005). Putting ‘participatory’ into participatory forms of action research . Journal of Sport Management, 19 (4), 367-386 .
9.
Gatenby, B. , & Humphries, M. (2000). Feminist participatory action research: Methodological and ethical issues . Women’s Studies International Forum, 23 (1), 89-105 .
10.
Gordon, G. B. (2001). Transforming lives: Towards bicultural competence. In P. Reason & H. Bradbury (Eds.), Handbook of action research: Participative inquiry and practice (pp. 314-323). London: SAGE .
11.
Green, L. W. , George, M. A. , Daniel, M. , Frankish, C. J. , Herbert, C. J. , Bowie, W. R. , & O’Neill, M. (1995). Study of participatory research in health promotion: Review and recommendations in the development of participatory research in health promotion in Canada. Vancouver, BC: Institute of Health Promotion Research, University of British Columbia .
12.
Greenwood, D. J. , & Levin, M. (1998). Introduction to action research: Social research for social change. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE .
13.
Harding, S. (1986). The instability of the analytical categories of feminist theory . Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 11 (4), 645-664 .
14.
Israel, B. , Checkoway, B. , Schulz, A. , & Zimmerman, M. (1994). Health education and community empowerment: Conceptualizing and measuring perceptions of individual, organizational, and community control . Health Education Quarterly, 21 (2), 149-170 .
15.
Israel, B. , Schulz, A. , Parker, E. , & Becker, A. B. (2000). Community-based participatory research: Engaging communities as partners in health research. Paper presented at the Community-Campus Partnerships for Health’s 4th Annual Conference, Washington, DC.
16.
Lather, P. (1991). Getting smart: Feminist research and pedagogy within the post-modern. New York: Routledge .
17.
Maguire, P. (1987). Doing participatory research: A feminist approach. Amherst, MA: The Centre for International Education, University of Massachusetts .
18.
Maguire, P. (2001). Uneven ground: Feminisms and action research. In P. Reason & H. Bradbury (Eds.), Handbook of action research: Participative inquiry and practice (pp. 59-69). London: SAGE .
19.
Maguire, P. (2004). Reclaiming the F word: Emerging lessons from teaching about feminist-informed action research. In M. Brydon-Miller , P. Maguire & A. McIntyre (Eds.), Traveling companions: Feminism, teaching, and action research (pp. 117-135). Westport, CT: Praeger .
20.
Maguire, P. , Brydon-Miller, M. , & McIntyre, A. (2004). Introduction. In M. Brydon-Miller , P. Maguire & A. McIntyre (Eds.), Traveling companions: Feminism, teaching, and action research (pp. ix-xviii). Westport, CT: Praeger .
21.
McIntyre, A. , & Lykes, M. B. (2004). Weaving words and pictures in/through feminist participatory action research. In M. Brydon-Miller , P. Maguire & A. McIntyre (Eds.), Traveling companions: Feminism, teaching, and action research (pp. 57-77). Westport, CT: Praeger .
22.
Mies, M. (1991). Women’s research or feminist research? In M. M. Fonow & J. A. Cook (Eds.), Beyond methodology: Feminist scholarships as lived research (pp. 60-83). Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press .
23.
Noffke, S. E. , & Brennan, M. (2004). Doormats and feminists: Who is the ‘community’ in action research? In M. Brydon-Miller , P. Maguire & A. McIntyre (Eds.), Traveling companions: Feminism, teaching, and action research (pp. 97-113). Westport, CT: Praeger .
24.
Nyden, P. , & Wiewel, W. (1992). Collaborative research: Harnessing the tensions between researcher and practitioner . The American Sociologist, 24, 43-55 .
25.
O’Connor, M. , Denton, M. , Hajdukowski-Ahmed, M. , Zeytinoglu, I. U. , & Williams, K. (1999). A theoretical framework for research on women’s health promotion. In M. Denton , M. Hajdukowski-Ahmed , M. O’Connor & I. U. Zeytinoglu (Eds.), Women’s voices in health promotion (pp. 9-20). Toronto: Canadian Scholars’ Press .
26.
Park, P. (1993). What is participatory research? A theoretical and methodological perspective. In P. Park (Ed.), Voices of change: Participatory research in the United States and Canada (pp. 1-19). Toronto: OISE Press .
27.
Park, P. (2001). Knowledge and participatory research. In P. Reason & H. Bradbury (Eds.), Handbook of action research: Participative inquiry and practice (pp. 81-90). London: SAGE .
28.
Razavi, S. (1998). Gendered poverty and social change: An issue paper (DP 94). Geneva: United Nations Research Institute for Social Development .
29.
Regehr, C. (2000). Action research: Underlining or undermining the cause ? Social Work & Social Sciences Review, 8 (3), 194-206 .
30.
Reid, C. (2000). Seduction and enlightenment in feminist action research . Resources for Feminist Research, 28 (1/2), 169-188 .
31.
Reid, C. (2004). The wounds of exclusion: Poverty, women’s health, and social justice. Edmonton, Alberta: Qualitative Institute Press .
32.
Reinharz, S. (1992). Feminist methods in social research. New York: Oxford University Press .
33.
Ristock, J. L. , & Pennell, J. (1996). Community research as empowerment: Feminist links, postmodern interruptions. Toronto, ON: Oxford University Press .
34.
Ryan, G. W. & Bernard, H. R. (2000). Data management and analysis methods. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research, pp. 769-802. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE .
35.
Shiell, A. , & Hawe, P. (1996). Health promotion community development and the tyranny of individualism . Health Economics, 5, 241-247 .
36.
Statistics Canada . (1996). 1996 Census Nation Tables. Statistics Canada. Retrieved 12 July 2002 from: www.statscan.ca/english
37.
Williams, J. , & Lykes, M. B. (2003). Bridging theory and practice: Using reflexive cycles in feminist participatory action research . Feminism & Psychology, 13 (3), 287-294 .
38.
Yoshihama, M. , & Carr, E. S. (2002). Community participation reconsidered: Feminist participatory action research with Hmong women . Journal of Community Practice, 10 (4), 85-104 .
