Where Participatory Approaches Meet Pragmatism in Funded (Health) Research: The Challenge of Finding Meaningful Spaces

The term participatory research is now widely used as a way of categorising research that has moved beyond researching "on" to researching "with" participants. This paper draws attention to some confusions that lie behind such categorisation and the potential impact of those confusions on qualitative participatory research in practice. It illuminates some of the negative effects of "fitting in" to spaces devised by other types of research and highlights the importance of forging spaces for presenting participatory research designs that suit a discursive approach and that allow the quality and impact of such research to be recognised. The main contention is that the adoption of a variety of approaches and purposes is part of the strength of participatory research but that to date the paradigm has not been sufficiently articulated. Clarifying the unifying features of the participatory paradigm and shaping appropriate ways for critique could support the embedding of participatory research into research environments, funding schemes and administration in a way that better reflects the nature and purpose of authentic involvement

Collaborative action research within developmental evaluation : learning to see or the road to myopia?

This paper looked at methodological issues in evaluation when action research is a key element. In developing arguments in respect of locating the value in multiple perspectives it adds strength to the qualitative paradigm in terms of trustworthiness. Arguing that the engagement of participants in their own research leads to greater in-depth understanding of elements that underpin knowledge, decision making and change, the paper offers a qualitative, innovative, active approach to evaluation, and critique of evaluation approaches, for those wishing to engage in developmental evaluations for change

Understanding research, consent and ethics: a participatory research methodology in a medium secure unit for men with a learning disability

People with learning disability have historically been the subjects or recipients of research, rather than participants or contributors. Whilst there is considerable literature on issues of informed consent, little is known about what people with learning disability understand about research, participation in research or how to facilitate understanding. Ways of facilitating consent have been offered by a number of studies (Fisher, 2003, Murphy and Clare, 1995, DeRenzo et al 1998) but these studies have not researched the effectiveness of such methods from the perspective of the participants. Understanding what is meant by research is fundamental to involving people with learning disabilities in research and to developing and maintaining informed consent (Gilbert, 2004). This study set out to discover how men with a learning disability living in a Medium Secure Unit understand research, consent and ethics and what enables them to learn about these concepts. Seven men and ten staff were invited to become co-researchers with two researchers from Northumbria University, over 20 months. Lessons learned from this study about research can now be used to educate other adults with learning disability concerning research, how it can be helpful, and how it can make a difference in the lives of people with learning disability

Participatory Research Into Inclusive Practice: Improving Services for People With Long Term Neurological Conditions.

People with long-term conditions are intensive users of health services as well as being long term users of social care and community services. In the UK, the Department of Health has suggested that the development of a more inclusive approach to services could furnish benefits to people with long-term conditions and financial savings for service providers. Researchers with a varied set of expertise and experience (users of neuro-rehabilitation services, staff working in services, people working with third sector agencies and university academics) adopted a participatory research approach to work together to explore what inclusion might look and feel like for people who are long term users of health services. The element of critique and mutual challenge, developed within the research process, disturbed current presentations of inclusion and inclusive practice. It revealed that the more usually expected components of inclusion (trust, respect and shared responsibility) whilst necessary for inclusive practice, are not necessarily sufficient. Inclusion is revealed as a complex and challenging process that requires the active construction of a critical communicative space for dialectical and democratic learning for service development

Developing Early Years leadership: Examining the practice of facilitation in and through action research

This article examines the use of first-person action research to improve the facilitation of a continuing professional development (CPD) project in Early Years leadership. The intention of this project was to support Early Years Leaders (EYLs) from a diverse range of Early Years settings in NW England, including those in children’s centres and the private, voluntary and independent sector, to improve their practice and hence strengthen the quality of Early Years provision. The project, carried out in five separate phases, gave rise to a nested action research inquiry carried out by both EYLs and the lead facilitator of the CPD. As the EYLs used the approaches offered by the facilitator to articulate and evaluate their own experiences of leading Early Years provision, their sayings, the articulation of their xpertise and their burgeoning confidence in using that expertise, challenged the facilitator to find her own locus of knowledge. The article focuses on this process of building respectful partnerships for reflexive learning and how the facilitator, using her own overarching inquiry, developed insights into the process of facilitation itself. The concept of practice architectures (Kemmis et al 2014) was used as a framework to analyse the data. Findings include the importance of recognising the importance of diverse forms of expertise and where this lay and the emotional labour of relinquishing control of the process to enable authentic shared enquiry

Mapping Alternative Impact: Alternative approaches to impact from co-produced research

No abstract available

Improving the general health of people with learning difficulties in the UK: experiences of the implementation of Annual Health Checks

This paper offers a brief overview of the background to implementing a policy of offering Annual Health Checks (AHCs) to all people with a learning disability/difficulty in the UK. It outlines what has been developed through national policy and then offers an insight into the experiences of four people with learning difficulties in relation to understanding and accessing AHCs. All four people are members of The Lawnmowers Independent Theatre Company (ITC) a company that aims to lay solid foundations for people with learning disabilities to participate fully in their own society, shaping their own environment and controlling their own futures