Story Sharing – ISBNPA

Participatory Research SIG: July 2023 Newsletter

Antonio Palmeira — Mon, 10 Jul 2023 18:58:51 +0000

Learn all about the latest activities from the Participatory Research SIG.

Click on this [LINK] to read the online version.

Or read the pdf below.

Part Research SIG Newsletter July 2023 Download

Ash Cox: Story Sharing

Antonio Palmeira — Mon, 29 Nov 2021 15:28:45 +0000

From the very beginning of my PhD I have wanted to capture the experiences of adolescents in conducting muscular fitness activity to help guide future intervention design. I successfully captured the experiences of adolescent boys, which suggested a lack of exposure in the school environment. The plan was to deliver a muscular fitness intervention during school PE; however, halfway through my PhD the global pandemic hit, forcing me to alter the trajectory of my PhD research! This has resulted in discussions with PE teachers and an assessment of their perceptions and experiences of muscular fitness delivery in the school environment. Following a national survey amongst PE teachers, a participatory approach to designing CPD to enhance the knowledge and understanding of muscular fitness activity delivery was undertaken. If I have taken anything away from my experience to date in participatory research, it is to:

1. Define key terms in the research area early on, we all need to sing off the same song sheet

2. Identify the driving force for participant engagement, what is their “why”?

3. Do not be overly academic in your approach, it has to be fun, understandable and meaningful to the participants involved

Moushumi Chaudhury: Story Sharing

Antonio Palmeira — Mon, 29 Nov 2021 15:25:49 +0000

One of my primary school-based projects, “Empowering children to influence changes in their school environment for physical activity, health and wellbeing” the children mentioned several things that they wanted updated or changed regarding their playground and sports fields and equipment during the action group meetings. However, when the children advocacy group presented their findings to the school’s principals and teacher leadership team. The students identified issue that they wanted immediate action on as (1) to fix the broken bathroom locks, (2) new mirrors, and (3) removal of outdoor graffiti on the walls. The principle and teachers were surprised. The principal said, “these are such minor issues, and I am surprised these are what concern you” To which the young presenter unprompted replied “Your perception of the problem is not our perception of the problem.” As a researcher this had a profound effect on me and the importance of co creation and the power of the voice to make change happen.

Story Sharing: Emma Cowley:

Antonio Palmeira — Mon, 29 Nov 2021 15:21:05 +0000

Without directly involving my target population (adolescent girls) early on in my PhD research, I would have conducted VERY different studies, that most likely would not have been particularly enjoyable or appropriate for adolescent girls. I signed up for a PhD project that was based around invasive physiology techniques, such as blood sampling and muscle biopsies. However, things completely changed after conducting some focus groups with girls around the UK and Ireland. We found that the majority of girls would not EVER sign up to a programme that involved these methods. These focus groups also helped me in understanding what recruitment methods the girls liked best (colorful posters with ‘nice’ images), what types of exercises the intervention should include (they like lots of choice and variety) and they also told me that only dinosaurs now use Facebook (Instagram/ TikTok/ Snapchat are the best ways to get in touch with them!).