摘要：Participatory research is primarily a methodological approach which attempts to formalise the reciprocal interaction between an agency and target communities. Methods such as Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) have gained wide acceptance with rural development agencies as part of the planning process for development projects. According to Chambers (1994), the critical feature of the PRA approach is that the professionals relinquish control and let local people explain the needs and aspirations of the community. Accumulated experience and evidence suggests that participatory research can greatly increase the effectiveness of dollars spent on development initiatives (Kottak 1985, Carter 1996). The potential for gains in cost-effectiveness may explain the wide diffusion of participatory approaches, from capacity building within large public institutions (Thompson 1995), to public policy reform in developed countries in areas such as health care (McWilliam 1997) and education (Weatherly and Lipsky 1977) that can be observed.
