Community Participatory Action Research (CPAR 3) - Resources

This page hosts resources for individuals and groups participating cohort 3 of the CPAR programme, which provides community groups in the South East of England with training and mentoring support in order to plan, carry out and use research for the benefit of their community. CPAR is funded by NHS England, and is being delivered by the University of Reading, Scottish Community Development Centre and the Institute for Voluntary Action Research.

The focus of this year’s CPAR is on health inequalities experienced by marginalised communities. As in previous CPAR cohorts, the aim is to produce evidence that helps local health and care services know how best to design and deliver services, including any improvements that can be made.

11 different community organisations are being supported through CPAR for this cohort, with 2 or 3 people participating in each project as community researchers.

Previous CPAR cohorts have included:

• In 2021-22, the first CPAR cohort was supported to conduct research into inequalities facing minority ethnic communities in accessing health and social care. See more here

• In 203-24, the second CPAR cohort was supported to carry out research into the impact of the cost of living on communities in the South East of England. See more here

Resources

The resources structured according to the University of Reading’s 8-stage process for community participatory action research. More resources will be added for each stage as the training programme continues.

Key resources

• The CPAR cohort 3 handbook - takes you through how CPAR works, important information, the different organisations who will support you and the timeline for what you’ll be doing. Download (pdf)

• University of Reading’s Participatory Action Research Wheel and 8-stage PAR process graphic. Download document (pdf)

• University of Reading’s Participatory Action Research Toolkit. Download document (pdf)
  

Stage 1 - Introductory session

• Slides presented by the University of Reading and Scottish Community Development Centre (SCDC) covering what CPAR is, who is involved in it and how the programme will be delivered. Download slides (pdf)

• Additional slides presented by the Institute for Voluntary Action (IVAR) on the support they will provide as part of CPAR to help enable your research to have more impact. Download Slides (pdf)

Stage 2 - Agreement, roles and expectations

• Slides from CPAR face-to-face training in Brighton and Oxford in October 2024, covering what community participatory action research is, why it is valuable, challenges and impact and practical tips. Download slides (pdf)

• CPAR promotional information, including logos, to help participating organisations share news about their involvement in the programme. Could be used on social media and newsletters for instance. Download (Word document)

Stage 3 - Planning and research questions

• Slides from CPAR 2 stage 3 training - Research questions. Download (PowerPoint presentation)

• CPAR template for planning your research. Download (Word document)

• CPAR guide to coming up with a good research question. Download (Word document)

  Ethics

• CPAR guide to ethics. Download (Word document)

• The CPAR guide to wellbeing Download resource (Word document)

• The CPAR guide to lone-working if you are planning on any one-to-one meetings or interviews in the community. Download resource (Word document)

• If you’re plannning on using digital or online methods, see the CPAR guide to online ethics and safety. Download resource (Word document)

  More resources

• Knowledge is Power toolkit, planning your research page. Visit resource (external website)

• Knowledge is Power toolkit, ethics guidance. Visit resource (external website)

Stage 4 - Research methods and data collection

• Slides from CPAR 2 stage 4 training - Research Methods and Data Collection. Download (PowerPoint presentation)

• Slides and video from additional training session on creative methods and ethnography. Download slides on ethnography (PowerPoint presentation)

  
  
  

  Guides to research methods

• For guides to all kinds of research methods you can use, from surveys and interviews to more creative and digital methods, please see the Knowledge is Power toolkit methods section. Visit resource (external website) (Knowledge is Power was a project supporting community research in Scotland which Scottish Community Development Centre delivered in partnership with the Poverty Alliance).

  
  
  

  Staying safe

• Please read the CPAR guide to lone-working if you are planning on any one-to-one meetings or interviews in the community. Download resource (Word document)

• The CPAR guide to wellbeing has more on self-care and staying safe as well as some ways to keep others from being harmed. Download resource (Word document)

• If you’re plannning on using digital or online methods, see the CPAR guide to online ethics and safety. Download resource (Word document)

  
  
  

  Informed consent

• The CPAR guide to ethics is a good start for explaining what informed consent is and what you need to do to ensure anonymity and confidentiality. Download resource (Word document)

• Research information template for face-to-face in-depth interviews. Download resource (Word document)

  Note - the above resource could also be adapted for focus groups

• Research information template for surveys. Download resource (Word document)

• Consent form template for face-to-face in-depth interviews. Download resource (Word document)

• Consent form template for focus groups. Download resource (Word document)

  
  
  

  More resources

• Knowledge is Power toolkit methods section. Visit resource (external website)

Stage 5 - Data analysis

• Slides from analysis training, including analysing qualitative data such as interviews and focus groups and quantitative data such as surveys. Download slides (Powerpoint presentation)

  
  

  Qualitative analysis

• CPAR guide to analysing interview data (useful for focus groups too). Download resource (Word document)

• Template for a simple table to begin identifying themes and gathering examples. Download resource (Word document)

  
  

  Quantitative analysis

• CPAR tips for survey analysis. Download resource (Word document)

• Step by step video on how to set up an Excel spreadsheet to enter your survey responses (see accompanying video above)

• Step by step video on how to generate pivot tables and charts using Excel (see accompanying video above)

  
  

• More resources

• Action Research by, in and for Communities (ARC) (external website with download available)

  The above resource was developed by Scottish Community Development Centre, and has a section on making sense of your findings

• SCDC has recently provided training on qualitative analysis of interview data (including thematic analysis) as part of a support programme in Scotland called Creating Hope Together. Download as pdf (with notes) or as pdf (without notes but with bigger slides)

Stage 8 - Action

• The Institute for Voluntary Action Research (IVAR) will be working with community researchers on CPAR to join the dots between conversations with stakeholders (such as NHS Workforce Training and Education Southeast representatives, health stakeholders and other delivery partners) so that your community-led research can inform and influence health and other services in the Southeast. Click here to download an introduction to how IVAR will support you (pdf)

• IVAR have produced a set of case studies of how CPAR community researchers who took part in the programme from 2023-24 have been taking forward actions out of their research. Click here to download the report and view some blogs from IVAR about the work (external website)

• For some more ideas, visit the ‘Action’ section of Knowledge is Power, which is a Scottish programme of support for community-led action research delivered by Scottish Community Development Centre in partnership with the Poverty Alliance. Visit resource (external website)