People working together around the world to generate ideas and action for social change
Participant observation was a research method first used by anthropologists and ethnographers, and relied on researchers both observing and participating in the social life of the group of people they were learning about. These basic principles were reflected in the earliest versions of Participatory Rural Appraisal, when staying in communities and working alongside community members was seen as part of the reversal of normal development practice that was needed in order to ensure the participation of ordinary people.