SOCIAL INNOVATION AND PARTICIPATIVE ACTION RESEARCH

Abstract

Some of the more traditional social research methods have been challenged by new ways of thinking, especially for some small groups or marginalized communities. Social innovation has thus come into the attention of many researchers and, in the context of citizen science, has proven to refresh the staleness of routine classical research. Participatory Action Research uses social innovation in the context of citizen science not only to employ a more active strategy in the progression of a research project, but also encourages participation in all or some stages of the project of the subjects of the project or the beneficiaries themselves. Their involvement comes with benefits, but also with some risks to which the professional researcher has to pay attention, to avoid compromising the quality of the study. The benefits however seem to outweigh the risks, at least in some successful applications.