ABSTRACT

Purpose

Traditionally, marginalised community members have been perceived by academics as providers of information and end users of research results. Co-research (community research) reverses this paradigm and uplifts ‘the researched’ to co-creators of knowledge and advocates for their own solutions to problems.

Design/methodology/approach

A co-research approach was developed, employed, and scaled by urban farmers in Cape Town, South Africa. Data was collectively gathered using mixed methods: primarily, focus group discussions, farming diaries, a vulnerability assessment, a structured survey, and a validation discussion.

Findings

The participants perceived the research process itself to be much more important than results, as they learned to challenge their own preconceptions, dismantled the cultural scaffolding which impeded their understanding of their world, and developed agency over processes for change.

Practical implications

The mutually developed results were used by the co-researchers to establish a representative body which advocates for policy action to address small-scale farmers’ needs.

Theoretical implications

Co-research goes beyond participatory action research by addressing its bottlenecks, such as actors’ limited involvement in data collection.

Originality/Value

This long-term study was led by actors who have been historically excluded from access to education. This study actively encouraged the inclusion of excluded voices and calls for a paradigm change in knowledge creation and democratisation of research processes.

中文翻译：

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从被研究人员到共同研究人员：包括被排除在开普敦社区主导的都市农业研究中的参与者

摘要

目的

传统上，边缘化社区成员被学术界视为信息提供者和研究结果的最终用户。共同研究（社区研究）逆转了这种范式，将“被研究者”提升为知识的共同创造者，并倡导他们自己解决问题。

设计/方法/方法

南非开普敦的城市农民开发、采用并推广了一项联合研究方法。数据是使用混合方法集体收集的：主要是焦点小组讨论、农业日记、脆弱性评估、结构化调查和验证讨论。

发现

参与者认为研究过程本身比结果重要得多，因为他们学会了挑战自己的先入之见，拆除阻碍他们理解世界的文化支架，并发展了对变革过程的代理权。

实际影响

共同研究人员利用共同开发的结果建立了一个代表机构，倡导采取政策行动来解决小农的需求。

理论意义

联合研究解决了参与式行动研究的瓶颈，例如参与者对数据收集的参与有限。

原创性/价值

这项长期研究由历来被排除在受教育机会之外的行为者领导。这项研究积极鼓励纳入被排斥的声音，并呼吁在知识创造和研究过程的民主化方面进行范式变革。