Lecture 7: conflict areas

Question 1

Fundamentals of PAR

Answer 1

-Emphasizes participation and action
o Participants taking on an active role in the production of a research question and other aspects

-seeks to understand the world by trying to change it, collaboratively and following reflection
o something is not going quiet right is when the PAR projects come into context
o crucial to understand the situation and community
o key question: make sure we are not making vulnerable people more vulnerable than they are

• emphasizes collective inquiry and experimentation grounded in experience and social history
• promote an explicit sharing of power unusual in traditional research formats

-offers the same level of scientific rigour as traditional research
o only thing that changes is the way you approach the problem

Question 2

PAR

Answer 2

• Participatory action research

Question 3

Common non-PAR questions in the field

Answer 3

-Most common non-PAR research questions in the field
o How much medical aid reaches the local populations?
o What is the impact of medical aid on survival rate of local residents?

-Traditional research process
o Uses mostly questionnaires and scales
o Assesses mostly treatment compliance in a binary fashion
o Focuses strictly on binary indicators

• The questions you’re asking will depict the answers you are getting
• Tools define results to a significant extend

Question 4

3 aspects of par

Answer 4

• Participation (life in society and democracy)
• Action (engagement with experience and history)
• Research (soundness in thought and the growth of knowledge)

Question 5

Study done in Sierra Leone

Answer 5

-Exploring needs with local community members (on both sides) and displaced persons
o First consulted local and international policies, got clearance and acknowledged the legal issues around child solders

Question 6

CBR Matrix

Answer 6

• Go cell by cell with the community to determine which aspects need the most work
• The local people determine the sequence in which interventions are implemented

Question 7

Precede-Proceed

Answer 7

• Get to know the community and target population
• Need to get epidemiological assessments
• Determine how target population is perceived by community
• Educational and ecological assessments

Question 8

What do you have to be to work with PAR

Answer 8

-Have to be flexible when working with PAR, after collecting data you might need to shift the focus of your goal

Question 9

Questions for Sierra Leone study

Answer 9

• How can we improve the quality if life of survivors in our refugee camp of village?
• How can we prevent friends and relatives from being affected by fighting and famine?

Question 10

How was the issue explored

Answer 10

• Tries to avoid questionnaires and scales because they limit the horizons
• Use questionnaires later, but not at the beginning

Question 11

Results of study

Answer 11

-Idleness in the camp is unbearable – leads to despair
o Also lead to violence (sexual assaults)

• Foreign aid is to uncertain – strong need to be self-sufficient
• Survivors feel disconnected from their roots and communities

Question 12

PAR’s Challenges

Answer 12

• Getting research funds
• Getting through ethics
• Recognizing a variety of expertise
• Putting more time in initially – which you quickly recover
• Misconceptions around scientific rigour
• Occasional publishing issues