A scoping review: The utility of participatory research approaches in psychology

Abstract

Consistent with community psychology's focus on addressing societal problems by accurately and comprehensively capturing individuals’ relationships in broader contexts, participatory research approaches aim to incorporate individuals’ voices and knowledge into understanding, and responding to challenges and opportunities facing them and their communities. Although investigators in psychology have engaged in participatory research, overall, these approaches have been underutilized. The purpose of this review was to examine areas of research focus that have included participatory research methods and, in turn, highlight the strengths and ways that such methods could be better used by researchers. Nearly 750 articles about research with Indigenous Peoples, children/adolescents, forensic populations, people with HIV/AIDS, older adults, and in the area of industrial‐organizational psychology were coded for their use of participatory research principles across all research stages (i.e., research design, participant recruitment and data collection, analysis and interpretation of results, and dissemination). Although we found few examples of studies that were fully committed to participatory approaches to research, and notable challenges with applying and reporting on this type of work, many investigators have developed creative ways to engage respectfully and reciprocally with participants. Based on our findings, recommendations and suggestions for researchers are discussed.

Community‐Engaged Research and Evaluation in Counseling: Building Partnerships and Applying Program Evaluation

“…Counselor educators can use Dari et al's findings or an adaptation of the readiness for CEnR domains (Shea et al, 2017) to identify their own beliefs and values related to CEnRE. Counseling researchers who wish to develop engaged partnerships may find it helpful to consult Stallings et al (2019), Levac et al (2019), and Hardy et al (2016) for practical guidance regarding each step of the engaged research process.…”

“…Consideration of power dynamics is a critically important component of CEnRE (Hardy et al, 2016;Levac et al, 2019). Being a faculty member carries a level of power (Chan et al, 2018), and researchers must be aware of how this power differential affects partnerships, especially with marginalized communities with historical and ongoing abuses of power.…”

“…Many organizations are used to academics coming and going at what appears to be at whim (Warren et al, 2018), and it can be easy for academics to come into community organizations with a top-down perspective (Levac et al, 2019;Nagayama Hall et al, 2016) that reinforces healthy skepticism among potential partners. These processes are reflected in CTSA's (2011) operationalization of five key challenges encountered within community engagement: engaging and maintaining community involvement, overcoming differences between and among academics and the community, working with nontraditional communities, initiating a project with a community and developing a community advisory board [i.e., a group of diverse representatives who can share perspectives on a common issue], and overcoming competing priorities and institutional differences.…”

“…However, many published accounts do not include clear attention to context and partnership. Collaborative, engaged scholarship can be more rigorous than traditional research, provided appropriate safeguards and descriptions are provided (Warren et al, 2018), including specific attention to context to illustrate transferability (see Guiffrida et al, 2011;Levac et al, 2019). The reason for the lack of attention to context in counseling publications is unclear.…”

Understanding and addressing stigma through qualitative research: Four reasons why we need qualitative studies.

“…Qualitative research is thus well-suited for understanding not only experiences, but also their associated processes and contexts, as well as the social interactions that play a role in people's experiences (Flick, 2009;Hennink et al, 2011). Much qualitative research is critical and post-positivist, rooted in social constructivism and concerned with promoting social justice and meaningfully engaging with research participants (Howitt, 2013;Levac et al, 2019;Shalowitz et al, 2009). To do qualitative research well, the researcher must be open-minded, curious, empathic, flexible, reflective, and able to listen (Hennink et al, 2011).…”