Participatory Action Research (PAR) as a Research Approach …
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the community from being self-reliant (Shuman 2013). The concept of “leave no one
behind” as emphasized by the SDGs illustrates the need for community involvement
in all sustainable community development efforts.
In a case study of NGO interventions for sustainable community development
in the island off the west coast of Sabah, Malaysia called Pulau Mantanani, the
researcher initiated a collaborative community development research project with
two key actors, the NGOs and the local community, as research participants in the
design and delivering of NGO interventions aim at improving the livelihood of the
community. The research focused on analysing the factors that influence the sustainability of the NGO interventions for sustainable community development using
a Participatory Action Research (PAR) methodology. The PAR methodology is an
approach to research in communities that emphasizes participation and action and
seeks to understand a phenomenon by attempting to produce change (social, economic or environmental) in a collaborative manner through a series of reflection,
collective inquiries, and experimentation that is justified in experience and social
history.
Whitehead and McNiff (2006) hypothesized that the PAR methodology is a good
approach to assisting in the process of raising economic development, increasing
awareness of natural resource-dependency and capacity-building on a group level
because the aim of PAR as an approach to research is to improve social or personal
situations, rather than just understand and propose theories about the causes of the
external situation. This manuscript will define the PAR method applied in this case
study and proceed to describe the core features or principles of PAR which were
applied as a methodology in this research and evaluate the application of the PAR
method. This manuscript will also discuss the values and limitations of the application
of the PAR methodology in studying sustainable community development towards
attaining the Sustainable Development Goals.
2 Literature Review
2.1 Defining the Participatory Action Research (PAR)
Methodology
The Participatory Action Research (PAR) methodology is an action-oriented research
approach that emphasizes on an interactive, democratic inquiry and participatory
process that involves researchers working in collaboration “with” and “for” the
research subjects (also known as co-researchers, research participants or critical
friends) towards a social, environmental or economic change (Reason and Bradbury
2001; MacIntyre 2007; Smith 2015; Bradbury 2015). PAR methodology is defined
by Reason and Bradbury (2008) as “a participatory, democratic process that seeks to
bring together action and reflection, theory and practice, in participation with others,
in the pursuit of practical solutions to issues of pressing concern to people in their
673
the community from being self-reliant (Shuman 2013). The concept of “leave no one
behind” as emphasized by the SDGs illustrates the need for community involvement
in all sustainable community development efforts.
In a case study of NGO interventions for sustainable community development
in the island off the west coast of Sabah, Malaysia called Pulau Mantanani, the
researcher initiated a collaborative community development research project with
two key actors, the NGOs and the local community, as research participants in the
design and delivering of NGO interventions aim at improving the livelihood of the
community. The research focused on analysing the factors that influence the sustainability of the NGO interventions for sustainable community development using
a Participatory Action Research (PAR) methodology. The PAR methodology is an
approach to research in communities that emphasizes participation and action and
seeks to understand a phenomenon by attempting to produce change (social, economic or environmental) in a collaborative manner through a series of reflection,
collective inquiries, and experimentation that is justified in experience and social
history.
Whitehead and McNiff (2006) hypothesized that the PAR methodology is a good
approach to assisting in the process of raising economic development, increasing
awareness of natural resource-dependency and capacity-building on a group level
because the aim of PAR as an approach to research is to improve social or personal
situations, rather than just understand and propose theories about the causes of the
external situation. This manuscript will define the PAR method applied in this case
study and proceed to describe the core features or principles of PAR which were
applied as a methodology in this research and evaluate the application of the PAR
method. This manuscript will also discuss the values and limitations of the application
of the PAR methodology in studying sustainable community development towards
attaining the Sustainable Development Goals.
2 Literature Review
2.1 Defining the Participatory Action Research (PAR)
Methodology
The Participatory Action Research (PAR) methodology is an action-oriented research
approach that emphasizes on an interactive, democratic inquiry and participatory
process that involves researchers working in collaboration “with” and “for” the
research subjects (also known as co-researchers, research participants or critical
friends) towards a social, environmental or economic change (Reason and Bradbury
2001; MacIntyre 2007; Smith 2015; Bradbury 2015). PAR methodology is defined
by Reason and Bradbury (2008) as “a participatory, democratic process that seeks to
bring together action and reflection, theory and practice, in participation with others,
in the pursuit of practical solutions to issues of pressing concern to people in their