ABSTRACT
All too often within research the methodology and resultant methods are chosen because a researcher has a particular interest or expertise in that approach. Indeed one of the ironic things about participatory research is that there is a plethora of approaches that have fine distinctions between them and yet make claims for distinctiveness. These include Participatory Action Research, Participatory Leaning and Action, Participatory Rural and Rapid Appraisal and Community Based Participatory Research. After a participant had recalled an event that either helped or hindered the transition, the researcher repeated the process by asking him/her to think about other events that helped or hindered the transition. In the Escape Plan research, in trying to identify the critical incidents that had led participants out of rough sleeping, the core group suggested wider participants create a timeline of their journeys through homelessness. Many participatory research approaches and guides have exercises aimed at eliciting community approaches and indigenous knowledge.
