Work

The debt diaries: Turning participatory ethnography into action research

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: This article examines how piloting a diary method became pivotal in transforming a participatory ethnography on household debt in Greece and Spain into full-fledged Action Research —driven and shaped by the diary-writing participants themselves. We analyse the evolving dynamics between researchers and diary authors, as an initial phase of solitary diary writing prompted the collaborative development of workshops with drama and theatre methods which, in turn, catalysed dialogue, critical reflection, and collective empowerment. These engagements not only enabled diary authors to articulate previously silenced issues around indebted subjectivity, but also repositioned them as central agents and co-researchers, enabling the research team to fully inhabit the role of situated Action Researchers.

Source: Action Research

DOI: 10.1177/14767503251342748

Authors: Maria Kaika, Melissa García-Lamarca, Dimitra Siatitsa

Institutions: University of Amsterdam, Lund University, University of Crete

Language: English

Topic: Participatory Visual Research Methods

Subfield: Sociology and Political Science

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,650

Funders: Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities and Social Sciences, Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen, Universiteit van Amsterdam, National Institute on Aging