University of Manchester
Institute for Development Policy and Management

Development Research

Good and bad practice in participatory research

"The best of both worlds: representativeness and insight?"

Cynthia Dittmar

Table of Contents

1. Introduction ... 2

2. Participatory research – good and bad practices ... 3

2.1. Principles of RRA/ PRA as good practices ... 4
2.2. Criticisms of participatory research and bad practises ... 5

3. The best of both worlds – representativeness and insight ... 7

3.1. Qualitative vs. quantitative methods – insight vs. representativeness ... 8
3.2. Participatory research - best of both worlds? ... 9

4. Conclusion – participation, a contested field ... 10

Literature ... 11

1. Introduction

Development research serves different purposes – from informing policy-making on a macro level, to conducting large scale poverty assessments of countries and regions, and planning, managing, evaluating and impact assessment of development projects and programs. Since the 1970s, participatory research methods have become increasingly important in this field. Whereas initially they were used to inform project practice on the mirco-level, they are now also used to inform policy making and enhance governance. “They moved from the margins of development practice to the very heart of development mainstream” (Mikkelsen 2005: 58). Participation is for example a basic requirement for Good Governance of aid receiving countries or for the formulation of national Poverty Reduction Strategies (PRS).

Participatory research can be seen as the methodological basis of participatory development. However, there is ongoing debate on whom those methods inform – the instrumental practice of aid/ governmental agencies (‘participation as means’) or the local communities themselves, providing them with the means to conduct their development (‘participation as end’). This ambiguity is the main reason why a coherent definition of participatory development and research does not exist. The notion ′participatory′ is blurred and definitions differ widely. Common to most definitions is the view that an active involvement of stakeholders will enhance development research and projects. An important advantage of participatory research is seen in the deeper insight into local life and need (Mikkelsen 2005). In chapter 2 of this paper, I will try to outline the different aspects of the concept and will discuss good and bad practices in participatory research, paying particular attention to the conflict between participation as means and as end.

The wider scope of current participatory research led to the need for valid and robust data gathered through participative research methods which raises the question for the representativeness of participatory gathered data. Chambers (2001) claims that participatory research can provide the “best of both worlds” (ibid: 25) – as it meets the requirements of deeper holistic insight represented by qualitative research and representativeness, represented by quantitative approaches. In Chapter 3 I will discuss the scope of qualitative and quantitative approaches and to which extent Chambers claim is cogent.

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