Power and participation in community research: Community profiling in Italy

The chapter explores the issue of power in participatory community research, with the aim of (a) highlighting the rewards and the risks entailed in participatory community research; (b) identifying and discussing devices through which inequality, exclusion and power asymmetry are created and preserved in the research process; and (c) making suggestions and recommendations about the ways in which participation processes can be managed. After a brief introduction about the importance and benefits of participation in community research, the dynamics of power relationships is addressed and the risks and problems associated with the adoption of a participatory approach highlighted. Specifically, issues concerning inclusion, manipulation, reproduction of social inequalities, quality of participation, and influence are discussed, with examples from projects that have utilised community research. The issues and the examples presented emphasise the centrality of relationships and demonstrate the need for improving the reflexivity of all researchers involved in the research process.