1. Practice-Oriented Approaches to Research: PAR & PLR
May 8, 2017
McMaster Divinity College

2. Personal Practice Wisdom Shared / Local Knowledge
Types of Knowledge:
Personal Practice Wisdom
(informs personal Practice)
Shared / Local Knowledge
(informs local practice)
Public Knowledge
(informs the practice of the profession)
McMaster Divinity College

3. Definitions
Practice-led Research is concerned with the nature of practice and leads to new knowledge that has operational significance for that practice. The results of practice-led research may be fully described in text form without the inclusion of a creative work. The primary focus of the research is to advance knowledge about practice, or to advance knowledge within practice. Such research includes practice as an integral part of its method and often falls within the general area of action research.
[adapted from Candy (2006)]
Practice-based Research is an original investigation undertaken in order to gain new knowledge partly by means of practice and the outcomes of that practice. Claims of originality and contribution to knowledge may be demonstrated through creative outcomes in the form of designs, music, digital media, performances and exhibitions. Whilst the significance and context of the claims are described in words, a full understanding can only be obtained with direct reference to the outcomes.
[adapted from Candy (2006)]
McMaster Divinity College

4. Types of Professional Practice Research
“Research about”
Practice
Practice-Led Research (PLR) & Participatory Action Research
“Research into”
(Theory-based)
“Research Within” (PLR)
“Research through”
“Research for” (i.e., support)
Practice-Based Research
(e.g. PAR, Strategic or Developmental Research)
McMaster Divinity College

5. Characteristics Participatory Action Research (Selenger, 1997)
Practice-Led Research (Mutter, unpublished)
Participatory Action Research (Selenger, 1997)
The problem originates within, and out of, the [professional] practice of the researcher.
The ultimate goal of PLR is the generation of new knowledge about practice.
In PLR the practitioner is both the researcher and the researched.
PLR involves reflexive practice that focuses on practices that involve “creative engagement:” e.g., the creative arts, preaching, psychotherapy.
PLR has the ability to create a increased awareness of a practitioner's emergent practice wisdom.
Purposive reflection on practice methods, decision- making patterns, etc. facilitates clarity re: one’s awareness and understanding of what they do.
Triangulation involves purposeful comparison with the literature (post hoc) and/or obtaining feedback from observers of the person’s practice.
PLR engages the researcher as both the observer and the observed in the research process.
The problem originates in the community itself and is defined, analyzed, and solved by the community.
The ultimate goal of PAR research is the radical transformation of social reality and improvement in the lives of the individuals involved.
PAR involves the full and active participation of the community at all levels of the entire research process.
PAR involves a range of powerless groups of individuals: e.g., the exploited, the poor, the oppressed, and the marginalized.
PAR has the ability to create a greater awareness in individuals’ own resources that can mobilize them for self-reliant development.
Community participation in the research process facilitates a more accurate and authentic analysis of social reality.
PAR allows the researcher to be a committed participant, facilitator, and learner in the research process.
McMaster Divinity College

6. The “Within-ness” of Practice-Led Research
“Client” Factors
Practitioner Factors
Current Practice
PLR
Trajectory of the Practitioner-Researcher’s Practice
Practice Context / Professional Standards
Cultural Factors

7. Social / Communal Nature of Participatory Action Research
Communal Engagement
Area or Focus of Research
Insider Researchers
Outsider Researcher
McMaster Divinity College

8. Research Processes: PLR & TAR/PAR
Practice-Led Research (Smith & Dean, 2009)
Participatory Action Research (Cameron et al., 2010, Chevalier & Buckles, 2013)
Idea Generation
Creative Practice
Idea Selection
Investigate & Extrapolate
Documentation
Develop Ideas
Creative Output
Theorise & Develop Techniques
Output: Theories & Techniques
Meeting 1 (Dialogue) between insider team and outsider team, questionnaire, identify practice to be researched
Meeting 2 (Dialogue) discuss questionnaire, review research question
Meeting 2 (Grounding) agree on terms of reference
Research Design (Grounding) clarification of and agreement on research design, workload, etc.
Data Collection (Navigating & Scaling)
Reflection on Data (Sense-making)
Production of Feedback Documents
Joint Feedback Meeting
Action (next steps based on findings)
Recontracting for Another Cycle

9. Research ETHICS: PLR & TAR/PAR
Practice-Led Research
Participatory Action Research
Bolt, B., & Vincs, R. “Straw Godzilla: Engaging the academy and research ethics in artistic research projects.” Educational Philosophy and Theory, 47 (2015),
Important discussion of research ethics as they apply to PAR appears in the following article. Bergold, Jarg and Stefan Thomas. “Participatory Research Methods: A Methodological Approach in Motion.” Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung / Forum: Qualitative Social Research, [S.l.], 13 (Jan. 2012). Available at: research.net/index.php/fqs/article/ view/1801. Date accessed: 03 May 2017.

10. Sources
Bergold, Jarg and Stefan Thomas. “Participatory Research Methods: A Methodological Approach in Motion.” Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung / Forum: Qualitative Social Research, [S.l.], 13 (Jan. 2012). Available at: Date accessed: 03 May Bolt, B., & Vincs, R. “Straw Godzilla: Engaging the academy and research ethics in artistic research projects.” Educational Philosophy and Theory, 47 (2015), Cameron, Helen, et al. (2010). Talking about God in Practice: Theological Action Research and Practical Theology. London: SCM Press. Candy, Linda. (2006). Practice Based Research: A Guide. Creativity & Cognition Studios, University of Technology, Sydney. Available at: pdf Date accessed: 03 May Chevalier, J. M., & Buckles, D. J. (2013). Participatory Action Research: Theory and Methods for Engaged Inquiry. New York: Routledge Selenger, D. (1997). Participatory Action Research and Social Change. New York: Cornell University. Smith, H., & Dean, R. (2009). Practice–led Research, Research–led Practice in the Creative Arts, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
McMaster Divinity College