From Field School to Fieldwork: Incorporating Community-based Participatory Research Principles into Dissertation Research

2015 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 23-27
Author(s):  
Jessica-Jean Casler

This article speaks to the challenges faced conducting an individual, applied dissertation project just months after participating in team-oriented, community-based participatory research (CBPR). As a researcher, I was deeply affected by CBPR's prioritizations of collaborative research designs, reciprocal learning spaces, and more immediately useful research outcomes for the community. After participating in CBPR, I struggled with returning to a project that was far less community-centered. As a result, I integrated CBPR practices into my dissertation research creating a complicated, but worthwhile, CBPR-like approach to a more traditional applied project. Here I share the successes and failures of this process, as well as recommendations that might continue to move us as anthropologists, departments, and a discipline, closer to research that purposefully prioritizes the knowledges, experiences, and desires of communities. In sharing this experience I hope to offer insights to others working toward more equitable and ethical research.

2015 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 4-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clarence C. Gravlee ◽  
Sarah M. Szurek ◽  
M. Miaisha Mitchell

The Health Equity Alliance of Tallahassee (HEAT) Ethnographic Field School (EFS) uses a community-based participatory research (CBPR) framework to provide intensive, hands-on training in methods of collecting and analyzing qualitative and quantitative ethnographic data. In this article, we describe (1) how the field school addresses a disciplinary need for more rigorous training in research methods, (2) the value of grounding field training in a participatory framework, and (3) the structure and aims of the field school training program. Our efforts promote mutual learning in a collaborative environment and the integration of teaching, research, and action.


2015 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 9-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathan Jessee ◽  
Kourtney K. Collum ◽  
Richard D. Schulterbrandt Gragg

Despite a rich history of collaborative and engaged scholarship and the recent “participatory turn” in anthropology few anthropology departments train students in the philosophy or methods of collaboration. Graduate training is typically characterized by conventional classroom-based lectures and individualized projects, while participatory research is thought of as something scholars can do later in their careers. The 2013 Health Equity Alliance of Tallahassee (HEAT) Ethnographic Field School disrupted this paradigm. The Field School used a community-based participatory research (CBPR) framework to train graduate students and community stakeholders in applied research methods through participation in an established community/university research partnership, examining race, racism, and health outcomes. The Field School was comprised of a racially, economically, and educationally diverse, intergenerational, multicultural, and multiethnic group of participants. Reflecting on this experience, we challenge the myth of the “lone ethnographer” and argue for a reorientation in anthropological methods training towards transdisciplinary, participatory, and collaborative ethnographic methods.


Author(s):  
David R. Buchanan

The conduct of community-based participatory research (CBPR) is a recent innovation in research designs aimed at identifying effective public health interventions. CBPR aims to maximize participation of affected populations in all phases of the research to fulfill three purposes: it is (1) a method for developing innovative interventions, (2) an intervention itself intended to change the respective partners positively as a result of their participation, and (3) a means to fulfill an ethical obligation. CBPR is most ethically significant for respecting community autonomy and providing protections from community-level harms, such as stigmatization of identifiable social groups, lost opportunity costs, and overcoming mistrust, which may lead to reluctance to participate in research and, hence, a lack of empirical data on potential adverse effects or benefits for certain social groups. Key unresolved issues include procedures for enlisting legitimate community representatives and the scope of their authority over the conduct of the research.


Retos ◽  
2015 ◽  
pp. 219-224 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tara-Leigh F. McHugh ◽  
Nicholas L. Holt ◽  
Chris Andersen

Abstract. There is critical need to better understand how to enhance sport participation among Indigenous youth and how to provide sporting opportunities in ways that contribute positively to health and wellness. The purpose of this paper is to describe our attempts to ‘deeply engage’ Indigenous youth in sport research via a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach. Specifically, we describe how a range of qualitative data generation techniques have been used in our research, that is focused on exploring how communities can support sport opportunities for Indigenous youth in Edmonton, Alberta. Our program of research, which included the use of one-on-one interviews, sharing circles, and photovoice, provides direction for utilizing collaborative research approaches that respect Indigenous youth as equal partners in sport research. Furthermore, findings from our research have provided in-depth insights into the experiences and meanings of sport for Indigenous youth, and contributed to furthering understandings of the necessary processes that are foundational to engaging in relevant and respectful sport research with Indigenous youth.Resumen. La participación en el deporte puede jugar un papel en la reduccion de las disparidades de salud experimentadas por los jóvenes indígenas. A pesar de la vasta literatura sobre el deporte que ha documentado los beneficios potenciales de la participación deportiva, relativamente pocos estudios han examinado la participación deportiva entre la juventud indígena. Hay necesidad crítica para comprender mejor la manera de mejorar la participación deportiva entre los jóvenes indígenas y cómo proporcionar oportunidades deportivas de forma que contribuyan positivamente a la salud y el bienestar. El propósito de este trabajo es describir nuestros intentos de implicar con profundidad  a los jóvenes indígenas en la investigación del deporte a través de un enfoque de investigación participativa basada en la comunidad (CBPR). En concreto, se describe cómo se han utilizado una serie de técnicas cualitativas de generación de datos de nuestra investigación, que se centra en la exploración de cómo las comunidades pueden apoyar las oportunidades deportivas para la juventud indígena en Edmonton, Alberta. Nuestro programa de investigación, que incluyó el uso de entrevistas uno a uno,  los círculos de intercambio y la técnica de foto voz, proporcionan una orientación para la utilización de enfoques de investigación en colaboración que respeten a los jóvenes indígenas como socios iguales en la investigación deportiva. Por otra parte, los resultados de nuestra investigación han proporcionado una visión en profundidad de las experiencias y significados del deporte para los jóvenes indígenas, y han contribuido a la promoción de la comprensión de los procesos necesarios que son fundamentales para la participación en la investigación deportiva correspondiente y respetuosa con los jóvenes indígenas.


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