Bibliography

The authors’ present a view of participatory action research. They give a short overview of the evolution of action research and key approaches to action research, the sites and settings where they are most frequently used, several criticisms that have been advanced for each, and key sources to explore them.The approaches identified were a somewhat eclectic mix—participatory research, classroom action research, action learning, action science, soft systems approaches, and industrial action research. The authors summarize those approaches and the influence of each approach on the field. The papers presents “myths, misinterpretations, and mistakes” to move toward reconceptualising research itself as a social practice. Thinking about research as a social practice leads to an exploration of Habermas’s notion of the public sphere as a way of extending the theory and practice of action research. The authors hope that this argument shows more clearly how participatory action research differs from other forms of social inquiry, integrating more clearly its political and methodological intentions.