Participatory Action Research

William Foote Whyte, a sociology professor known for his work with urban gangs, died July 16. He was eighty-six. A 1936 graduate of Swarthmore, he earned a PhD in sociology from the University of Chicago. He began teaching on the Hill in 1948 as one of the first ILR professors. The title of his autobiography, Participant Observer, reflects his approach to academia--that a researcher can be a positive force for social change. "If there is a common theme in my work, it is my commitment to social exploration," he wrote. "Fieldwork fascinates me. I want to explain what is out there."Whyte, who became an emeritus professor in 1979, published twenty books, including the ground-breaking Street Corner Society, a 1943 study of Italian gangs in Boston′s North End. He is survived by his wife of sixty-two years, Kathleen King Whyte, four children, twelve grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren.

• Introduction - William Foote WhytePAR IN INDUSTRYParticipatory Action Research - William Foote Whyte, Davydd J Greenwood and Peter LazesThrough Practice to Science in Social ResearchParticipatory Action Research - Larry A Pace and Dominick R ArgonaA View from XeroxParticipatory Action Research - Anthony J ConstanzaA View from ACTWUParticipatory Action Research - Jose Luis Gonzalez SantosA View from FAGORParticipatory Action Research and Action Science Compared - Chris Argyris and Donald SchonA CommentaryComparing PAR and Action Science - William Foote WhyteResearch, Action and Participation - Richard E Walton and Michael GaffneyThe Merchant Shipping CaseCo-Generative Learning - Max Elden and Morton LevinBringing Participation into Action ResearchAction Research as Method - Jan Irgen KarlsenReflections from a Program for Developing Methods and CompetenceParticipant Observer Research - Robert E ColeAn Activist RolePAR IN AGRICULTUREParticipatory Strategies in Agricultural Research and Development - William Foote WhyteA Joint Venture in Technology Transfer to Increase Adoption Rates - Ramiro OrtizParticipatory Action Research in Togo - Richard Maclure and Michael BasseyAn Inquiry into Maize Storage SystemsThe Role of the Social Scientist in Participatory Action research - Sergio RuanoSocial Scientists in International Agriculture Resarch - Douglas E HortonEnsuring Relevance and Conributing to the Knowledge BaseConclusions - William Foote Whyte