Describes a participatory research project that involved adult education practitioners in the Caribbean in collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data. Explains how participatory research is the process by which knowledge is generated and skills are acquired, by both the researcher and the researched. (SK)

Criticisms of rational synoptic planning are that it is elitist, simplistic, and supportive of existing power relationships. An alternative, people-centered community planning, views the population to be studied as ideological and historical beings, uses knowledge of and by the people as a base, requires interpersonal as well as analytical skills,…

Examines the contributions that participants in studies employing deception can make to the development of standards for research with human participants. The paper discusses enhancing the protection of human subjects and illustrates the value of cost benefits and participant-investigator partnerships on the basis of three published studies that…

A Namibian project to train agricultural extension staff considered three approaches to curriculum development: content, product, and process. Use of participatory approaches brought new dimensions to the final product, but they cannot become an alternative to working with trainees on their own agenda. (SK)

The outcomes of social research, particularly that conducted with the participation of the target groups, can empower older South Africans who are members of disadvantaged populations. (SK)

Provides advice on conducting focus-group research in institutions of higher learning based on experiences with groups of university business-school students. Lists and discusses steps in focus group research, including determining research questions, determining sampling frames, selecting moderators, developing a discussion guide, recruiting…

Clarifies the characteristics of participatory research that distinguish it from other forms of research aimed at generating action. Discusses the role of ordinary people in motivating and sustaining research efforts, the nature of the knowledge generated, and the social-change mechanism embedded in participatory research. (Author/CCM)

Reflects on a researcher's journey while embarking on a study that was political in its intentions and participatory in its orientation. Discusses a doctoral-research study that was a critical ethnography of a school and community engaged in a socially critical approach to environmental education. (Author/CCM)

Explores the processes, impacts, and implications of initiating elementary preservice teachers into the realm of teacher-as-researcher. (Author/CCM)

Reports part of a qualitative research study that used participatory action research and grounded action research to show how facilitators of virtual teams build and maintain online relationships. Focuses on how virtual team facilitators use Internet-based and conventional electronic communication channels to build personal relationships with team…

In Zimbabwe, agricultural extension agents took a participatory approach involving farmers in experimentation and research. The attitude changes required for participatory approaches were highly dependent upon personalities and required major changes in planning, training, monitoring, and evaluating. (SK)

This case study of a commission charged with studying consolidation of two Minnesota towns illustrates the processes of identifying research needs, citizen participation in research, education of the public, and decision making on a highly controversial public issue. (SK)

A participatory research project sought to define community education needs, locate resources, and ensure the sustainability of educational development. Results were used to expand Hall's participatory research model by describing the project through four perspectives: concrete (what was done), communicative (what was said), cognitive (what was…

Concept mapping is a participant-based methodology that involves three processes: participant generation of ideas or experiences about a specific question, grouping together responses through an unstructured card sort by participants, and statistical analysis of card-sort results using multidimensional scaling and cluster analysis. A research…

Projects involving mental health clients receiving occupational therapy and senior citizens engaged in capacity building illustrate steps in the participatory action research (PAR) process: issue identification and planning; investigation and action; action, reflection, and modification cycles; and knowledge creation and change. Challenges and…