Chapter 10 “Make sure there is a shady tree”: Participation and action research with Australian aboriginal communities

Abstract

Participatory action research (PAR) is a qualitative research methodology with a dynamic and powerful potential in both rural and urban contexts. PAR can account for social forces and macro systems of injustice which affect the lives of people within a community and thus achieve what Prilleltensky (2003) termed ‘psychopolitical validity’. This chapter explores its efficacy in research with Australian Aboriginal groups. It is contended that PAR is an invaluable approach in conducting research with such communities. PAR has the potential to empower Indigenous communities in ways that quantitative designs simply cannot.

Citation

Guilfoyle, A., Coffin, J. and Maginn, P.J. (2008), "Chapter 10 “Make sure there is a shady tree”: Participation and action research with Australian aboriginal communities", Maginn, P.J., Thompson, S.M. and Tonts, M. (Ed.) Qualitative Urban Analysis: An International Perspective (Studies in Qualitative Methodology, Vol. 9), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 213-240. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1042-3192(07)00209-1