Reflections on ‘doing’ participatory data analysis with women experiencing long-term homelessness

Abstract

This paper draws on the lessons learned from the [in]visible project, a community-based research partnership that aimed to learn more about the experiences of women, without children in their care, who experience chronic homelessness in Hamilton, Ontario. Through involving 70 women as participants, we used narrative and arts-based research methods to learn about the experiences and housing needs of this population. The purpose of the [in]visible project was to involve women in identifying gaps in housing services and generate recommendations on how permanent housing for women should be developed. This paper demonstrates how the participation of the women in three distinct data analysis activities including arts-based think tanks, participatory theorizing, and the creation of a conference workshop supported the participation of women at all stages of the data analysis process. This paper contributes to limited scholarship on participatory data analysis by presenting pragmatic and low-barrier ways of ensuring the findings and the direction of advocacy efforts reflect the social justice and change priorities of the women involved.