Pills and PAR

So the question is: Is research a blue pill or a red pill? And my answer is: BOTH. It seems hard to believe that any of us could study a topic, a quantity of information, or a group of people and not be pulled toward some new "truth" in our conclusions. But then again, I picture that first graph we placed ourselves on -- where two out of four quadrants were intended to maintain the status quo. And how how often does it happen that a researcher conducts studies that are aimed at replication, at maintaining the status quo, or supporting the current authority? It can be used as a way to silence the challenges and the critics -- which seems to me to be quite the opposite of the goal of research. Research should constantly question, and challenge, and critique, and if the current "truth" is reinforced, then it is that much stronger for having had the conversation. I think that research SHOULD be the the red pill, but unfortunately it sometimes acts as the blue pill that makes us forget the conversation about how to get there in the first place.

As far as action research -- I love the concept of community participation, and of inside-out empowerment. It can achieve the same results as Critical Research, but in a not-so-critical way. The focus shifts from fighting the system that's working against us, to building our own system that will work FOR us. The researcher can be both particpant and facilitator, but the community does the work and reaps the benefits. Amazing. I've had all kinds of new ideas since Fish and Boulders!