Participatory Research

Last updated on Feb 18, 2026
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Definition: Participatory research refers to incorporating the views of people from relevant communities in the entire research process to achieve shared goals between researchers and the communities. This approach takes a collaborative stance that seeks to reduce the power imbalance between the researcher and those researched through a “systematic cocreation of new knowledge” (Andersson, 2018).

Related terms: Collaborative research, Inclusion, Neurodiversity, Patient and Public Involvement (PPI), Transformative paradigm

References:

  • Cornwall, A., & Jewkes, R. (1995). What is participatory research? Social Science & Medicine, 41(12), 1667–1676. https://doi.org/10.1016/0277-9536(95)00127-S
  • Fletcher-Watson, S., Adams, J., Brook, K., Charman, T., Crane, L., Cusack, J., Leekam, S., Milton, D., Parr, J. R., & Pellicano, E. (2019). Making the Future Together: Shaping Autism Research Through Meaningful Participation. Autism, 23(4), 943–953.
  • Kiernan, C. (1999). Participation in research by people with learning disability: Origins and issues. British Journal of Learning Disabilities, 27(2), 43–47. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-3156.1999.tb00084.x
  • Leavy, P. (2017). Research Design: Quantitative, Qualitative, Mixed Methods, Arts-Based, and Community-Based Participatory Research Approaches. The Guilford Press.
  • Ottmann, G., Laragy, C., Allen, J., & Feldman, P. (2011). Coproduction in practice: Participatory action research to develop a model of community aged care. Systemic Practice and Action Research, 24, 413–427. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11213-011-9192-x
  • Rose, D. (2018). Participatory research: Real or imagined. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 53, 765–771. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-018-1549-3

Originally drafted by: Tamara Kalandadze

Reviewed by: Jamie P. Cockcroft, Bethan Iley, Halil E. Kocalar, Michele C. Lim