Action research a Handbook for Students

clopedia of Action Research, SAGE Publications Ltd., London; Reason P., Brad-
bury-Huang H. (eds.) (2013), The SAGE Handbook of Action Research: Par-
ticipative Inquiry and Practice, 2nd edition, SAGE Publications Ltd., London.
2.2 Participatory action research
Participatory action research (described in a broader context in Chapter 1 of 
this book) supports empowerment and social justice through transferring power 
within the research process to its participants [Walmsley, Johnson 2003]. The 
source of the concept is Paulo Freire’s writing [2005]. Participatory action re-
search begins with people. What follows is learning about their problems, their 
ambitions and what they would like to do. Participatory action research can be 
carried out in various types of organisations (business, public, non-governmen-
tal) as well as in local communities.
Marja-Liisa Swantz, mentioned in Chapter 1, the distinguished pioneer 
of participatory action research, said in an interview that PAR means con-
ducting research together with people for the purpose of solving problems 
and building knowledge on both sides: that of academic researchers and that 
of members of an organisation or community [Nyemba, Mayer 2018]. In this 
type of action, the emphasis on the word “participation” means that partners 
embarking on a research project should be involved in the entire research pro-
cess, even if they are not professional researchers. This is why professional re-
searchers should support all people involved in the project and help them to 
acquire skills necessary for their full participation in the process of collecting, 
analysing and interpreting data.
Participation, its form, and the way of involving participants differ sig-
nificantly depending on the project. For instance, within “The Morris Justice 
Project” [Stoudt, Torre 2014], researchers from The City University of New 
York, working in a research along with residents of a New York neighbourhood 
together created research tools and carried out the research. In the course of 
this project, during numerous meetings in a local library, professional research-
ers shared their skills with local residents, so that they, too, could become full