Annotated Bibliography

Annotated Bibliography
Amsden, J. & VanWynsberghe, R. (2005). Community mapping as a research tool with
youth.

SAGE Publications, 3(4), 357-381. DOI: 10.1177/1476750305058487.

The authors, professors at the University of British Colombia, present their findings after
engaging youth in a participatory evaluation to assess the quality of local health clinics.
The research combines community mapping and Participatory Action Research to involve
youth as facilitators and investigators. While the authors found this to be an inclusive
research methodology that empowered young people to be change-agents and increased
their voice as decision-makers, analyzing the data and formulating action-steps proved to
be more difficult and thus requires more research.
Braithwaite, R., Cockwill, S., ONeill, M., & Rebane, D. (2007). Insider participatory
action research in disadvantaged post-industrial areas, Action Research, 5(1), 61-74.
DOI: 10.1177/1476750307072876.
As part of a regeneration project in a post-industrial community in Wales, the authors
present their experiences as inside investigators using Participatory Action Research
methodologies. As members of the community, the authors were uniquely positioned to
build mutual and reciprocal relationships with residents in order to inform development
initiatives. Tensions, however, arose for the authors as they learned to navigate their dual
and often competing roles as community members and action researchers.
Brydon-Miller, M., Kral, M., Maguire, P., Noffke, S., & Sabhlok, A. (2011). Jazz and the
Banyan tree: roots and riffs on participatory action research. Retrieved from
www.researchgate.net.

Annotated Bibliography

The authors give an overview of the history and practice of participatory action research
and offer two metaphors that describe the richness of action research. The first metaphor,
that of jazz, highlights the collaborative process of action research as it gathers together
diverse experiences and perspectives to guide and inform the research agenda. The other
metaphor the authors use is of a banyan tree to reflect the community aspect of action
research as a tool to create new spaces for learning and reflection.
Caxaj, S.C. (2015). Indigenous storytelling and participatory action research: allies toward
decolonization? Reflections from the Peoples International Health Tribunal. Global
Qualitative Nursing Research, 1-12. DOI: 10.1177/2333393615580764.
The author presents her research findings that use storytelling and action research with
indigenous women in Mexico to address the negative social, health, and environmental
impacts that mining has had on the community. Storytelling, she posits, is a way to
gather local indigenous knowledge, seek truth, resist the ongoing effects of colonization,
and bear witness to the social injustices experienced by the indigenous community. The
author concludes that storytelling is an effective tool to co-construct knowledge with
vulnerable populations that challenges traditional research approaches that can exploit
and distort the Indigenous experience.
Feen-Calligan, H., Washington, O.G.M., & Moxley, D.P. (2009). Homelessness among older
African-American women: interpreting a serious social issue through the arts in
community-based participatory action research. New Solutions, 19(4), 423-448. DOI:
10.2190/NS.19.4.d.

Annotated Bibliography

The authors investigate the validity of community-based participatory action research

through the analysis of a homeless intervention program that uses photography as a tool
to witness the lived experiences of homeless African-American women. The authors
conclude that art methodologies enhanced their action research because it creates a space
for homeless women to share their stories with a wider audience, celebrate their
strengths, and also name the daily challenges they face. Through art-making,
partnerships and collaboration naturally follow, both valuable tools that can be leveraged
to find creative solutions to homelessness..
Fournier, B., Bridge, A., Mill, J., Alibhai, A., Kennedy, A.P., & Konde-Lule, J. (2014).
Turning the camera back: A photovoice project with Ugandan children who are
orphaned and living with HIV. Sage Open, 1-10. DOI: 10.1172/2158244014530997.
The authors explore how Photovoice can be used as an action research tool with orphaned
children living with HIV in a group home in Africa. This case study finds that
Photovoice is an effective tool to discuss the challenges the children face and reflect on
potential solutions. Change, however, occurred on an individual instead of an
organizational scale and was complicated by cultural and language barriers.
Francisco, V. (2014). Ang Ating lisang Kuwento our collective story: migrant Filipino
workers and participatory action research. Action Research, 12(1), 78-93. DOI:
10.1177/1476750313515283.
Working with Filipino migrant workers in California, the author investigates how theater
and storytelling can uncover the hidden realities of forced migration in order to mobilize
immigrant communities. Theater, she discovers, is a powerful form of action research

Annotated Bibliography

because it situates personal narratives within a community context. This creates a space
for migrant workers to share their experiences with one another, recognize
commonalities, and increase social networks to overcome their isolation and loneliness.
Frey, A.F. & Cross, C. (2011). Overcoming poor youth stigmatization through art. Action
Research, 9(1), 65-82. DOI: 10.1177/1476750310396951.
The authors conduct an action research case study with high school dropouts in a
marginalized community in Buenos Aires, Argentina. They quickly discovered that using
traditional research forms only further isolated the youth who were filled with guilt and
shame at not completing their education. To overcome this challenge, the authors turned
to Photovoice. This research tool engaged the youth as equals and gave them the
opportunity to record their lived experiences as high school dropouts. Displaying the
photos was another important step and created a space for youth, teachers, and
community members to determine the root causes of the alarming dropout rate.
Hutzel, K. (2007). Reconstructing a community, reclaiming a playground: a participatory
action research study. National Art Education Association, 48(3), 299-315. Retrieved
from JSTOR.
The author presents her findings of an action research case study she conducted to
examine the local residents perspectives of their community. As an art educator, she
wanted to investigate the intersection of action research and art education and did so by
engaging a group of young people through a mural project. The murals celebrated the
strength and resilience of the local community and were installed in a neglected park. To

Annotated Bibliography

her surprise, this public art sparked a community cleanup organized by residents and
increased the use the park.
Koch, T., Mann, S., Kralik, D., van Loon, A.M. (2005). Reflection: Look, think, and act
cycles in participatory action research. Journal of Research in Nursing, 10(3), 261278. Retrieved from SAGE Publications.
This article presents a new conceptualization of participatory action research that can be
internalized as a practical tool to process and overcome future challenges. The authors
present three cycles of action research that include looking, thinking and acting. Looking
involves gathering participants together to collect information, define the problem, and
explore personal expectations through attentive listening. Thinking requires that
participants analyze, interpret and attempt to explain their situation. Finally, in the action
stage, local actors explore potential changes they can make to overcome the challenges
they identified. The authors posit that critical reflection is the glue that holds these stages
together.
Powell, K. (2010). Making sense of place: mapping as a multisensory research method.
Qualitative Inquiry, 16(7), 639-555. DOI: 10.1177/107800410372600.
The outcome of an interdisciplinary summer research course in Panama, the author posits
that community mapping is an important qualitative research tool because it reflects a
communitys lived experience in a multisensory way. Mapping, she argues is a visual
tool that shows how place, including geography and history, impacts the concept of self.
In this way, it provides important insights that other research methods cannot.

Annotated Bibliography

Seeley, C. (2011). Unchartered territory: imagining a stronger relationship between the arts
and action research. Action Research, 9(1), 83-99. DOI: 10.1177/1476750310397061.
The author argues that because action research emphasizes multiple ways of knowing, it
should be combined with arts-based practices that naturally celebrate indigenous forms of
knowledge, encourage collaboration, and provide participants an opportunity to share
their stories. The artists role, therefore, is to create spaces for mutual transformation to
occur. This is not to be seen as an addition but rather as a fundamental conceptualization
of participatory action research.