Doing research with people: Approaches to participatory research, an introduction

Abstract

The inspiration for this manual came from a the World Congress on Participatory Action Research held in Cartagena, Columbia, (June 1-5 1997) where people from over 30 countries gathered to discuss participatory approaches to research, education and social development. The experience for most of those present was an eye-opener. It revealed that although the term 'participation' has varied connotations and participatory approaches or methodologies have been developed in response to different contexts and situations, yet the opportunities for convergence- to discuss, to share and learn from each others experiences - are immense.