Academic researchers

1
Academic researchers roles in implementing
participatory action research to promoteHIV
prevention among youthKeiko Goto, Ph.D.
Cornell University and California State
University/ChicoJennifer Tiffany, Ph.D.
Cornell UniversityGretel Pelto, Ph.D. Cornell
University

• Issues Participatory approaches, including
  participatory action research (PAR), are
  increasingly used within HIV prevention
  initiatives for youth. Academic research
  partners actual and potential roles in
  community-based projects have not yet been fully
  explored.
• Description Cornell University served as a
  technical partner with UNICEF in its What Every
  Adolescent Has a Right to Know (RTK) HIV
  prevention initiative. Youth peer educators and
  program managers from youth organizations
  involved with the RTK initiative participated in
  training about the theory and practice of PAR
  facilitated by university researchers. The first
  author provided on-going technical assistance on
  PAR as well as observing the evolution of the
  initiative in a Caribbean country. The research
  process was mainly structured by UNICEF and
  conducted by youth researchers. Participating
  organizations developed various uses of PAR
  within their organizational contexts.
• Lessons learned The academic researchers roles
  included fostering reflection upon and analysis
  of the PAR process, as well as more conventional
  technical assistance activities. We discovered
  that participants had different perspectives on
  PAR. Subsequent uses of PAR in organizational
  contexts included needs assessment, peer
  education and community mobilization. PAR was
  defined rather informally in contrast to academic
  conceptualizations. The incorporation of PAR
  techniques was sustained within organizations
  after the RTK initiative was terminated.
• Recommendation Examining how the PAR process
  unfolds while providing technical assistance in
  adapting PAR to needs identified within specificl
  contexts can be one of the ways academic
  researchers can contribute to both the
  theoretical and practical development of PAR.
• For more information/correspondence, please
  contact
• Keiko Goto, Ph.D.
• ltkgoto_at_csuchico.edugt

• General roles taken on by academic researchers
• Work as facilitators with participants,
  addressing and analyzing problems together for
  action (Ladipo 2002, Forester, 1999)
• The initiator, the consultant, or the
  collaborator (Stoecker, 2003)
• Academic researchers roles within RTK
• Assistance to national teams in developing,
  refining and implementing their PAR plans through
  country support teams
• On-site support at regional/country training
• On-site technical assistance/research in PAR
• Development of resource materials, guiding
  documents and tools
• Conduct study of PAR process, including
  interviews with research participants, youth
  researchers, and project managers
• Facilitation of reflection on lessons learned
  theory building
• Theory building Three types of PAR

Objectives of PAR Who feels a need for PAR Role of researcher Role of participants Who takes action
Action-oriented PAR Discuss and solve problems Participants and researchers Facilitator Agent of change Participants and researchers
Research-oriented PAR Gather information researchers Researcher Informant Researchers using findings
Education-oriented PAR Educate participants researchers Educator/ facilitator Learner Participants as learners
Acknowledgements The authors thank the staff
and participants of the UNICEF RTK initiative,
the Cornell RTK Working Group, and everyone who
made this work possible, including in particular
David Pelletier, Jude-Marie Alexis Smalec, Ken
Legins, Penny Campbell, Sara Sywulka, and Helene
Gregoire.