A Continuum of Community-Engaged Research: Democratizing Processes and Products

Background: Since Jane Addams, community research has been a hallmark of social work scholarship and practice and is a critical strategy for advancing social work science, impacting policies and programs, and informing collective action. Many researchers assume that any community involvement means that they are engaging in community participatory research, yet this is not the case. Instead, there is a community research continuum predicated on the degree of involvement and ownership that the community has in the research endeavor. Where a study falls on this continuum has implications for framing research questions; identifying, gathering, and analyzing data; and using results for community capacity building, advocacy, and resource acquisition. Approaches to research may be more or less extractive, and more or less participatory. Robust community-engaged research seeks to democratize processes and products, and aims to advance equity and inclusion in collaboration with the community through often creative and non-traditional means.

Objectives: In keeping with the conference theme, the focus of this workshop is on how to democratize the research process. The primary objective is for participants to understand, delineate, and assess different community research approaches that range from investigator driven to community driven research. Using their own research case studies, workshop facilitators will share key concepts, strategies for developing community relationships, investigatory methods, sense-making strategies, and dissemination protocols as arrayed along a community-research continuum. Emphasis is on distinguishing research endeavors that genuinely engage and partner with a community in ways that promote research democratization from those that do not. A secondary objective is to expand the network of community-engaged researchers, especially doctoral students and early career investigators, in incorporating community research concepts and methodologies into their work, and support the development of high-quality, innovative community-engaged scholarship. The workshop is intended to create opportunities for community researchers to network, share resources, and develop new collaborative scholarly projects.

Content: This workshop will provide participants with important tools and resources to incorporate community research approaches into their work. Workshop content will include a research orientation assessment tool and focus on specific concepts and methods used in different community research models. Substantive foci includes: an overview of a community research continuum; establishing and maintaining community research partnerships; differing mechanisms for and degrees of community involvement; connecting community theory and practice; employing cultural humility to address race, class, gender and other cultural differences; contending with ethical challenges; owning and disseminating data; funding strategies; and balancing demands of the academy with the needs of the community. Participants will discuss their community research endeavors so that promising practices can be identified collectively.

Approach: Following a presentation on the community research continuum and key assumptions of community research models, this workshop focuses on varying aspects of community research. Facilitators will use a Deep Dive Worksheet to engage participants in each phase of the workshop. Participants will discuss and receive feedback from the facilitators and other participants on issues related to their community-oriented scholarship, and be given access to a shared folder for additional resources and collaboration.