Abstract
The purpose of this position paper is to open a discussion about the practicability of participatory action research (PAR) within industry-funded information systems (IS)research. We reflect on a project in which the undue exercise of power by the practitioners on the research team compromised the methodological rigor of the inquiry. Theories of power are used to articulate our reflections and develop suggestions for mitigating power imbalances on PAR research teams, although we conclude that PAR cannot be followed faithfully to its principles in industry-funded engagements.
Chapter PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Fals-Borda, O., and Rahman, M. A. Action and Knowledge: Breaking the Monopoly with Participatory Action-Research, New Delhi: Indian Social Institute, 1991.
Freire, P. Pedagogy of the Oppressed, New York: Herder and Herder, 1970.
Foucault, M. Discipline and Punish, New York: Vintage Books, 1979.
Heron, J. “Philosophical Basis for a New Paradigm,” in P. Reason and J. Rowan (Eds.), Human Inquiry: A Sourcebook of New Paradigm Research, Chichester, England: John Wiley, 1981, pp. 19–35.
Heron, J., and Reason, P. “A Participatory Inquiry Paradigm,” Qualitative Inquiry (3:3), 1997, pp. 274–294.
Lukes, S. Power, Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1986.
Park, P. “People, Knowledge, and Change in Participatory Research,” Management Learning (30:2), 1999, pp. 141–157.
Reason, P. “Integrating Action and Reflection through Co-operative Inquiry,” Management Learning (30:2), 1999, pp. 207–226.
Reason, P. “Sacred Experience and Sacred Science,” Journal of Management Inquiry (2:3), 1993, pp. 10–27.
Skolimowski, H. The Participatory Mind: A New Theory of Knowledge and of the Universe, London: Arkana Books, 1994.
Whyte, W. F. “Introduction,” American Behavioral Scientist, Special Issue: Action Research for the Twenty-First Century: Participation, Reflection, and Practice (32:5), 1989, pp. 502–512.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2004 Springer Science + Business Media, Inc.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Breu, K., Hemingway, C.J., Peppard, J. (2004). Challenges for Participatory Action Research in Industry-Funded Information Systems Projects. In: Kaplan, B., Truex, D.P., Wastell, D., Wood-Harper, A.T., DeGross, J.I. (eds) Information Systems Research. IFIP International Federation for Information Processing, vol 143. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-8095-6_41
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-8095-6_41
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4020-8094-4
Online ISBN: 978-1-4020-8095-1
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive