Participatory Rural Appraisal Method: A Case Study of Four Villages in Ovan Region in Ghazvin Province

This study used Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA), and its main emphasis was the expansion and development of eco-tourism industry in Ovan region. The paper looked at ways and method to increase women participation in the process. Considering the main target group is women their active presence in the research process and their participation in all research stages were among the points of discussion. After an exploratory investigation of local communities and their needs and problems, they provided the researchers with solutions to improve the situation of their communities and their quality of life. The study was a comparative analysis of qualitative and quantitative research methods and it also considered the characteristics of PRA. The final part of the paper was devoted to the discussion about findings obtained by PRA techniques.