You get what you pay for. Glue and staples or glue and wood dowels will probably be stronger, but it totally depends on the quality of the materials and construction. The terms "plywood" and "particle board" are way too broad to even evaluate. 3/4" thick panels will be stronger than 5/8" is about all I can tell you.

Sorry, but it's not that simple.

Would the answer differ for particleboard vs. plywood?

Yes and no. Yes, because some methods, notably screws, work better in plywood than in particleboard. No, because you haven't fully described a fastening method so we can't compare these in any meaningful way.

Neither steel dowels nor glue alone will work on either material. The rest can be made to work on both materials. Many other variables, such as the quality and thickness of materials, fastener size and spacing, glue types, etc. will affect the quality of the end product.