Action Research

Substantial attention has been given to action research. A systematic review was implemented in 2001 to provide a complete summary of existing action research studies, but there is no systematic exploration of action research publications for this millennium. The general objective of this study was to systematically retrieve and review empirical studies on action research methodologies from 2000 to 2014. The consecutive and structured process of searching, selecting and examining articles through the Matrix Method was elaborated clearly in this paper. This study has found a wide variety of action research paradigms, data collection, and analysis methods and this paper discussed action research quality from these three aspects. Actor-network theory was introduced to propose the Spectrum of action research paradigms. In addition, a new classification was presented to group all data collection methods into those conducted respectively by researchers, participants, and both. Six kinds of commonly used data analysis approaches were extracted. Limitations and conclusions of the study were articulated in this paper.

“Power to the people” is a popular political slogan that is used to convey the essence of democracy and participation. This paper derives from an action research intervention to implement participatory evaluation in a medium-sized private hospital in Nigeria, where the author was a training consultant. While the original objective of the intervention was to improve effectiveness of training through participatory evaluation, the study enabled an important outcome: it helped in clarifying and resolving social power differences prevalent in evaluation. The paper therefore contributes to the theory and practice of action research by describing how a researcher may better understand and relate to others with regard to social power. This plays a potentially useful role especially in participatory evaluation.

Although public housing is often described as a negative and stigmatized environment, tenants living in such an environment can cultivate a positive sense of community, which enhances their individual and collective well-being. The present study describes the second phase of an action research, aiming to facilitate the empowerment of public housing tenants acting as peer-researchers. Following a Photovoice phase, this second phase focuses on the development and first implementation of a participatory observation method as a tool for evaluating tenants' collective environment fit. A group of nine tenants contributed to develop and later completed an observation grid. The observations were then discussed in decision-making sessions. The participatory observation method proved useful in supporting tenants in their reflection process, promoting the depiction of a nuanced portrait of their residential environment while also prioritizing capacity building. Results are currently used to inform an action phase in which tenants are taking increasingly more power. Triangulating the results from multiple sites is needed to establish more firmly the added-value of this observation method in a larger action research project. Key challenges and lessons learned are described in a reflective section, sharing experiential knowledge with researchers that consider using a similar method.

Increasingly, children are seen as social actors who are knowledgeable about issues that concern their lives, both in research and policymaking. However, this approach is not without challenges, particularly in relation to sensitive topics like poverty. One key challenge relates to how to involve children effectively so that their stories are actually listened to and acted upon by policymakers. This article reflects on the potential of photovoice as a method to make explicit children’s narratives about their lives and to inform policymakers of children’s perspectives. We involved two groups of children living in contexts of poverty and deprivation in urban areas of the Netherlands, supporting them to refine their narrative and presentation through photography. The children were brought into contact with policymakers after they had gained experience as photographers and experiential experts. The policymakers found their narratives compelling, and there is evidence that the children’s perspectives were taken on board in local government. Exhibition of the photographs using a specially designed table was also found to be an effective addition to the photovoice method. We conclude that photovoice can be successfully used to facilitate dialogue between children and policymakers, but that its use requires time, creativity and reflexivity.

Trusting, productive relationships between traditionally discordant stakeholders—community members and researchers—are critical for successful Community-Based Participatory Research. Practical guidance on processes allowing for partner trust-building and collaborative leadership development in Community-Based Participatory Research literature lacks specificity. In this paper, we introduce our praxis of Transformative Communication Spaces to facilitate purposeful, iterative discourse that occurs in, and fuels each research phase. We elaborate on the use of Transformative Communication Spaces through Pláticas de Salud, Oral History Listening Events, and Data Analysis Think Tanks within the framework of our Little Village Participatory Community Health Assessment. We believe the integrity and potential of Community-Based Participatory Research is contingent on the use of Transformative Communication Spaces strategies to foster trusting partnerships necessary for shared learning and co-leadership.