Participatory Research: Three Models and an Analysis

This article examines three models of participatory research: what we call the parallel process model, the mutual engagement model, and the University of Central America (UCA) model. These models represent successively greater degrees of academic engagement with outside communities—from complementar...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The American sociologist 1993-04, Vol.24 (1), p.107-126
Main Authors: Petras, Elizabeth McLean, Porpora, Douglas V.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Academic communities
College students
Communities
Community associations
Modeling
Participation
Personal empowerment
Research design
Research methods
Research Subjects
Researcher Subject Relations
Social research
Universities
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Summary:This article examines three models of participatory research: what we call the parallel process model, the mutual engagement model, and the University of Central America (UCA) model. These models represent successively greater degrees of academic engagement with outside communities—from complementary, though not necessarily uncommitted, engagement by academic(s); to compromised full engagement between the academic(s) and the community; to institutional engagement between the entire university and the community. Our analysis outlines the tensions that may arise within participatory research between service and scholarship. We conclude that for participatory research to capture the attention and involvement of the broader discipline, it must provide a spectrum of theory, methods, and substance that sociologists find of importance independent of the participatory way in which such contributions are generated.
ISSN:0003-1232
1936-4784
DOI:10.1007/BF02691948