Participatory research processes: Working with children for children

Abstract

Genuine participatory research enables us to embed the principles of health promotion practice into our research. Participants and researchers can develop skills, be empowered, and have fun, as well as make important contributions to generating new knowledge for theory, practice, and policy. This chapter describes the rationale and process of developing a suite of techniques labelled 'Participatory Research Process(es)'. We describe combining three existing research techniques, with an explicit intention to render the techniques coherent with the principles and practices of health promotion. The research processes provide a relatively inexpensive and rapid set of techniques that require an honest and self-reflective approach and researcher trust in the capacity of research participants. The chapter includes a step-by-step approach to the implementation of the research protocols, including details on how to prepare in advance. Practical advice on appropriate and user-friendly adaptations to the protocols is provided, alongside a clear outline of the challenges and strengths of this approach.