scholarly journals Caught up in power: Exploring discursive frictions in community research

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cindy Hanson ◽  
Adeyemi Ogunade
Keyword(s):  
Research Process ◽  
Community Research ◽  
Power Dynamics ◽  
Power Relationships ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Community Based Research ◽  
Research Outcomes ◽  
Power Asymmetries ◽  
Research Relationships

This article outlines the debate around the emancipatory claims of community-based research (CBR) and identifies discursive frictions as a pivotal point upon which much of CBR practice revolves. Using a Foucauldian theoretical lens, we suggest that CBR is neither inherently emancipatory nor repressive, but that research outcomes are more often a product of power asymmetries in CBR relationships. To illustrate how power asymmetries in research relationships produce discursive frictions, several studies from our work and the literature are presented. The article provides examples of CBR relationships between the researcher and community members and relationships within the community to illustrate how power asymmetries and discursive frictions in these relationships dynamically influence research outcomes and thus alert researchers to the need to address power asymmetries not just before initiating CBR projects, but during CBR projects as well. We interrogate how power asymmetries and discursive frictions operate and are constructed in CBR in an attempt to highlight how research might be conducted more effectively and ethically. Finally, we indicate that some of the tensions and challenges associated with CBR might be ameliorated by the use of participatory facilitation methodologies, such as photo-voice and story circle discussion groups, that draw attention to power asymmetries and purposefully use more creative participatory tools to restructure power relationships and ultimately address the inequities that exist in the research process. Because CBR is continually caught up in power dynamics, we hope that highlighting some examples might offer an opportunity for increased dialogue and critical reflection on its claims of empowerment and emancipation.Keywords: discursive friction, Foucault, participatory methodologies, power asymmetries, research relationships, emancipatory research  

Grounded in Culture: Reflections on Sitting Outside the Circle in Community-Based Research With Indigenous Men

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (14) ◽  
pp. 2343-2350
Author(s):  
Candice M. Waddell ◽  
Rachel V. Herron ◽  
Jason Gobeil ◽  
Frank Tacan ◽  
Margaret De Jager ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Community Based Participatory Research ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Power Dynamics ◽  
Indigenous Research ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Community Based Research ◽  
Research Paradigms ◽  
Reflexive Practice

Research continues to be a dirty word for many Indigenous people. Community-based participatory research (CBPR) is a means to disrupt power dynamics by engaging community members within the research process. However, the majority of relationships between researcher and participants within CBPR are structured within Western research paradigms and they often reproduce imbalances of power. The purpose of this article is to reflect on the process of CBPR within a research project focused on Indigenous men’s masculinity and mental health. In doing so, we aim to contribute to reflexive practice in CBPR and flatten research hierarchies to facilitate more equitable knowledge sharing. Our reflections highlight the importance of prioritizing healing, centering cultural protocols, negotiating language, and creating space for Indigenous research partners to lead. These critical lessons challenge Western researchers to ground their practices in Indigenous culture while they “sit outside the circle” to facilitate more equitable and engaged partnerships.

Community-Based Participatory Research

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tracey Marie Barnett
Keyword(s):  
Action Research ◽  
Participatory Research ◽  
Community Based Participatory Research ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Collaborative Action Research ◽  
Participatory Action ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Community Based Research ◽  
Partnership Approach

Community-based participatory research (CBPR) embraces a partnership approach to research that equitably involves community members, organizational representatives, social workers, and researchers in all aspects of the research process. CBPR begins with a research topic of importance to the community and has the aim of combining knowledge with action and achieving social change. It is community based in the sense that community members become part of the research team and researchers become engaged in the activities of the community. Community–researcher partnerships allow for a blending of values and expertise, promoting co-learning and capacity building among all partners, and integrating and achieving a balance between research and action for the mutual benefit of all partners. Various terms have been used to describe this research, including participatory action research (PAR), action research (AR), community based research (CBR), collaborative action research (CAR), anti-oppressive research, and feminist research.

scholarly journals 2483

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (S1) ◽  
pp. 80-80
Author(s):  
Clara Pelfrey ◽  
Katrice Cain ◽  
Mary Ellen Lawless ◽  
Earl Pike ◽  
Ashwini Sehgal
Keyword(s):  
Evaluation System ◽  
Expert Knowledge ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Consult Service ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Knowledge Community ◽  
Community Based Research ◽  
Research Outcomes ◽  
Study Population

OBJECTIVES/SPECIFIC AIMS: This study describes the design, operation, and evaluation of a community-based research (CBR) consult service within the setting of a Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) institution. To our knowledge, there are no published evaluations of a CBR consult service at a CTSA hub. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: A CBR consult service was created to support faculty, healthcare providers/research coordinators, trainees, community-based organizations, and community members. A framework was developed to assess the stages of client engagement and to foster clear articulation of client needs and challenges. A developmental evaluation system was integrated with the framework to track progress, store documents, continuously improve the consult service, and assess research outcomes. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: This framework provides information on client numbers, types, services used, and successful outreach methods. Tracking progress reveals reasons that prevent clients from completing projects and facilitates learning outcomes relevant to clients and funding agencies. Clients benefit from the expert knowledge, community connections, and project guidance provided by the consult service team, increasing the likelihood of study completion and achieving research outcomes. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: Our evaluation suggests that clients benefit by (1) gaining the collective knowledge of the experts comprising the team, (2) learning the process of doing CBR, including the required steps to reach completion, and (3) gaining a project management mentality promoting translational research outcomes. This study offers a framework by which CTSA institutions can expand their capacity to conduct and evaluate CBR while addressing challenges that inhibit community engagement.

scholarly journals Power and politics in research design and practice: Opening up space for social equity in interdisciplinary, multi-jurisdictional and community-based research

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valoree Gagnon ◽  
Hugh Gorman ◽  
Emma Norman
Keyword(s):  
Good Practice ◽  
Community Research ◽  
Power Dynamics ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Community Partners ◽  
Community Based Research ◽  
Research Engagement ◽  
Bay Area ◽  
Fish Consumption Advisories ◽  
Design And Practice

Working collaboratively with communities is commonly considered a cornerstone of good practice in research involving social-ecological concerns. Increasingly, funding agencies also recognise that such collaborations are most productive when community partners have some influence on the design and implementation of the projects that benefit from their participation. However, researchers engaged with this work often struggle to actively engage community members in this way and, in particular, Indigenous peoples. In this article, we argue that useful strategies for facilitating such engagement are to leave space in the research plan for questions of interest to community partners and to encourage equitable interactions between all participants through the use of forums in which power dynamics are intentionally flattened. We demonstrate the use of this technique in an interdisciplinary, multi-jurisdictional research study involving the fate and transport of toxic compounds that lead to fish consumption advisories throughout the world. In this project, the use of participatory forums resulted in community partners in Michigan’s Keweenaw Bay area of Lake Superior shaping a key aspect of the research by raising the simple but significant question: ‘When can we eat the fish?’. Their interest in this question also helped to ensure that they would remain meaningful partners throughout the duration of the project. The conclusion emphasises that further integration of Indigenous and community-based research methods has the potential to significantly enhance the process and value of university-community research engagement in the future.

Community-Based Research

2014 ◽  
pp. 484-517
Author(s):  
Margaret R. Boyd
Keyword(s):  
Research Process ◽  
Research Paradigm ◽  
Research Partnership ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Multiple Stakeholders ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Community Based Research ◽  
Traditional Research ◽  
Emerging Issues ◽  
Synergistic Relationship

Community-based research challenges the traditional research paradigm by recognizing that complex social problems today must involve multiple stakeholders in the research process—not as subjects but as co-investigators and co-authors. It is an “orientation to inquiry” rather than a methodology and reflects a transdisciplinary paradigm by including academics from many different disciplines, community members, activists, and often students in all stages of the research process. Community-based research is relational research where all partners change and grow in a synergistic relationship as they work together and strategize to solve issues and problems that are defined by and meaningful to them. This chapter is an introduction to the historical roots and subdivisions within community-based research and discusses the core principles and skills useful when designing and working with community members in a collaborative, innovative, and transformative research partnership. The rationale for working within this research paradigm is discussed as well as the challenges researchers and practitioners face when conducting community-based research. As the scholarship and practice of this form of research has increased dramatically over the last twenty years, this chapter looks at both new and emerging issues as well as founding questions that continue to be debated in the contemporary discourse.

Community-Based Research: A Grass-Roots and Social Justice Orientation to Inquiry

2020 ◽  
pp. 740-771
Author(s):  
Margaret R. Boyd
Keyword(s):  
Research Process ◽  
Research Paradigm ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Community Based Research ◽  
Early 21St Century ◽  
Professional Boundaries ◽  
Grass Roots ◽  
Social Justice Orientation ◽  
Traditional Research

Community-based research challenges the traditional research paradigm by recognizing that complex social problems in the early 21st century must involve multiple stakeholders in the research process—not as subjects but as coinvestigators and coauthors. It is an orientation to inquiry rather than a methodology and reflects a transdisciplinary paradigm by including academics from many disciplines, community members, activists, and often students in all stages of the research process. Community-based research is relational research where all participants change and grow in a synergistic relationship as they work together and strategize to solve issues and problems that are defined by and meaningful to the community. This chapter is an introduction to the historical and philosophical roots of community-based research and discusses the core principles and skills useful when designing and working with community members in a collaborative, innovative, and transformative research partnership. The rationale for working within this research paradigm is discussed, as well as the challenges researchers and practitioners face when conducting community-based research. This chapter ends with a discussion of the continuing need for discussion, reflection, and case studies from the field regarding professional boundaries, institutional barriers, ethical research practices, and project evaluation.

scholarly journals A consult service to support and promote community-based research: Tracking and evaluating a community-based research consult service

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-39
Author(s):  
C. M. Pelfrey ◽  
K. D. Cain ◽  
M. E. Lawless ◽  
E. Pike ◽  
A. R. Sehgal
Keyword(s):  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Evaluation System ◽  
Expert Knowledge ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Consult Service ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Knowledge Community ◽  
Community Based Research ◽  
Research Outcomes

PurposeThis study describes the design, operation, and evaluation of a community-based research (CBR) consult service within the setting of a Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) institution. To our knowledge, there are no published evaluations of a CBR consult service at a CTSA hub.MethodsA CBR consult service was created to support faculty, health-care providers/research coordinators, trainees, community-based organizations, and community members. A framework was developed to assess the stages of client engagement and to foster clear articulation of client needs and challenges. A developmental evaluation system was integrated with the framework to track progress, store documents, continuously improve the consult service, and assess research outcomes.ResultsThis framework provides information on client numbers, types, services used, and successful outreach methods. Tracking progress reveals reasons that prevent clients from completing projects and facilitates learning outcomes relevant to clients and funding agencies. Clients benefit from the expert knowledge, community connections, and project guidance provided by the consult service team, increasing the likelihood of study completion and achieving research outcomes.ConclusionThis study offers a framework by which CTSA institutions can expand their capacity to conduct and evaluate CBR while addressing challenges that inhibit community engagement.

scholarly journals A framework for entry: PAR values and engagement strategies in community research

2010 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 1-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanna Ochocka ◽  
Elin Moorlag ◽  
Rich Janzen
Keyword(s):  
Action Research ◽  
Participatory Action Research ◽  
Research Study ◽  
Community Research ◽  
Participatory Action ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Community Based Research ◽  
Engagement Strategies ◽  
Sensitive Topics ◽  
Collaborative Community

The purpose of this article is twofold: to explore the entry process in community-based research when researching sensitive topics; and to suggest a framework for entry that utilises the values of participatory action research (PAR). The article draws on a collaborative community-university research study that took place in the Waterloo and Toronto regions of Ontario, Canada, from 2005–2010. The article emphasises that community entry is not only about recruitment strategies for research participants or research access to community but it is also concerned with the ongoing engagement with communities during various stages of the research study. The indicator of success is a well established and trusted community-researcher relationship. This article first examines this broader understanding of entry, then looks at how community research entry can be shaped by an illustrative framework, or guide, that uses a combination of participatory action research (PAR) values and engagement strategies. Key words: research entry, community engagement, participatory action research, mental health and cultural diversity

scholarly journals Developing and piloting a community scientist academy to engage communities and patients in research

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 73-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Kathryn Stewart ◽  
Nicola Spencer ◽  
Anna H. Davis ◽  
Camille Hart ◽  
Beatrice Boateng
Keyword(s):  
Research Evaluation ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Community Advisory Board ◽  
Further Training ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Evaluation Data ◽  
Community Interest ◽  
Study Implementation ◽  
Interactive Exercises

IntroductionEffective translational research requires engagement and collaboration between communities, researchers, and practitioners. We describe a community scientist academy (CSA) developed at the suggestion of our Clinical and Translational Science Awards’ (CTSA) community advisory board to engage and capacitate community members by (1) increasing community members’ and patients’ understanding about the research process and (2) increasing their access to opportunities to influence and participate in research. A joint CTSA/community planning committee developed this 8-hour workshop including sessions on: (1) research definitions and processes; (2) study design; (3) study implementation; and (4) ways to get involved in research. The workshop format includes interactive exercises, content slides and videos, and researcher and community presenters.MethodsCommunity-based information sessions allowed assessment of community interest before piloting. Two pilots of the CSA were conducted with community members and patients. Participant data and a pre/post knowledge and feedback survey provide evaluation data.ResultsThe pilot included 24 diverse participants, over half of whom had not previously participated in research. Evaluation data suggest knowledge gains. Post-CSA, one-third have reviewed CTSA pilot grants and over 80% want to attend further training.ConclusionsThe CSA can demystify the research process for those underrepresented in research and facilitate their engagement and influence within CTSAs.

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