African Regional Workshop on Participatory Research (1-7 July): "From Clarity to Anarchy – Participatory Research Approach"
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Date
1979-07
Authors
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Journal ISSN
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Publisher
PRIA
Abstract
This paper critiques the lead presentation on the Participatory Research Approach (PRA) presented at the African Regional Workshop. It outlines the origins, varying perspectives, and methodological implications of PRA, highlighting tensions between researcher activism and knowledge generation. The paper examines philosophical roots, such as existentialism, and contrasts PRA’s eclectic, multi-modal methods with the more controlled methodologies of classical research approaches. Tandon addresses PRA’s seeming ‘anarchy’ and its accommodation of activist perspectives, emphasizing the method’s implications for social action in Third World contexts.
Description
This critique provides a comprehensive view on the methodological diversity of PRA, illustrating both its strengths in accommodating political activism and challenges in maintaining methodological coherence. Tandon argues for the essential integration of activists’ and researchers’ perspectives to enhance the impact and applicability of PRA in developmental contexts.
Keywords
Participatory Research Approach, Political Activism, Methodology, Third World Countries, Political Theory, Research Methodology, Inter-subjectivity, Idealism, Anarchic Research
Citation
Tandon, R. African Regional Workshop on Participatory Research (1-7 July, 1979): "From Clarity to Anarchy – Participatory Research Approach."