Researching With Communities

The concept of community-led research has taken off in recent years in a variety of fields, from archaeology and anthropology to social work and everything in between. Drawing on case studies from Australia, the Pacific and Southeast Asia, this book considers what it means to participate in community-led research, for both communities and researchers. How can researchers and communities work together well, and how can research be reimagined using the knowledge of First Nations peoples and other communities to ensure it remains relevant, sustainable, socially just and inclusive?

There is increasing pressure on university scholars to reach beyond the “ivory tower” and engage in collaborative research with communities. But what exactly is community-based participatory research (CBPR) and what does engagement look like? This book presents stories about CBPR from Manitoba Research Alliance projects in marginalized communities. Bringing together experienced researchers with new scholars and community practitioners, the stories describe the impetus for the projects, how they came to be implemented, and how CBPR is still being used within the community. By providing space for researchers and their collaborators to share the stories behind their research, this book offers rich insights into the power and practice of CBPR.

This thoroughly revised and updated second edition of Methodsfor Community-Based Participatory Research for Health providesa step-by-step approach to the application of participatoryapproaches to quantitative and qualitative data collection and dataanalysis. With contributions from a distinguished panel of experts,this important volume shows how researchers, practitioners, andcommunity partners can work together to establish and maintainequitable partnerships using a Community-Based ParticipatoryResearch (CBPR) approach to increase knowledge and improve thehealth and well-being of the communities involved. Written for students, practitioners, researchers, and communitymembers, the book provides a comprehensive presentation ofinnovative partnership structures and processes, and covers thebroad spectrum of methods needed to conduct CBPR in the widestrange of research areas—including social determinants ofhealth, health inequities, health promotion, communityinterventions, disease management, health services, andenvironmental health. The contributors examine effective methodsused within the context of a CBPR approach including surveyquestionnaire, in-depth interview, focus group interview,ethnography, exposure assessment, and geographic information systemmapping. In addition, each chapter describes a case study of theapplication of the method using a CBPR approach. The book alsocontains examples of concrete tools and measurement instrumentsthat may be adapted by others involved in CBPR efforts.

This book bridges a major gap between the theoretical and practical issues relating to community research methodologies. Through a series of reflective chapters, it explores what community research means in a range of settings and for a range of people, examining what it takes to produce a rigorous research project. Surveying important new advancements in research methodology, it measures theory against practice to offer strong recommendations for new approaches. With studentfriendly features, it will be an invaluable book for both those learning and those teaching community research.

This book explores the contributions that research, with refugees and with faith-based organizations for example, makes to strengthen community development and consequently promote active citizenship and social justice.

Meredith Minkler and Nina Wallerstein have brought together, in one important volume, a stellar panel of contributors who offer a comprehensive resource on the theory and application of community based participatory research. Community Based Participatory Research for Health contains information on a wide variety of topics including planning and conducting research, working with communities, promoting social change, and core research methods. The book also contains a helpful appendix of tools, guides, checklists, sample protocols, and much more.

Facilitating Community Research for Social Change asks: what does ethical research facilitation look like in projects that seek to move toward social change? How can scholars weave political and social justice through multiple levels of the research process? This edited collection presents chapters that investigate research facilitation in ways that specifically attempt to disrupt and challenge anti-Indigenous and anti-Black racism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, patriarchy, and sexism to work toward social change. It also explores what it means to develop facilitation practices across multiple contexts and research settings, including specific facilitation methods considered by researchers working with visual and community-based methods with Black, Indigenous, and racialized communities. The complexities of how scholars negotiate decisions within their research with people and communities have an effect not only on how researchers construct their participants and communities, but also on the overall purpose of projects, the ways their projects are shared and disseminated, and what is learned in the doing of facilitation. This book will be of great interest to both emerging and established researchers working within the social sciences. It specifically attends to diverse fields within the social sciences that include health, media studies, environmental studies, social work, sociology, education, participatory visual research methodologies, as well as the evolving field of digital humanities.