Engaged scholarship reflects empirical research conducted in partnership with public and private stakeholders, with the goal of addressing critical social issues and contributing to the public good. Often, community partners are included in the research process, either as informants, in collecting data, in analyzing the data, or all of the above. Among the pieces included here are those utilizing an action research methodology, in which tangible and immediate outcomes of community-based research are sought.

Arches, J. (2007). Youth take charge: Social action in a university-community partnership. In N. G. Hofman & H. Rosing (Eds.), Pedagogies of praxis: Course-based action research in the social sciences (pp. 59-77). Boston: Anker Publishing Company, Inc.

(Qualitative/action research; description; programmatic)

Arches’(2007) study of the Healthy Initiative Collaborative: Community-University Partnership (Hic Cup) at the University of Massachusetts-Boston details how the program is guided by three principles: the community must control the service, those being served must develop their own capacities to serve and act, and those who serve must be recognized as learners. The focus of the program is elevating the voice of low-income youth within their community by working with university students to “identify and document problems, prioritize their needs, and assess their options for meeting those needs. After conducting the research, they selected an issue related to recreational activities for youth and together worked to create conditions to obtain a basketball park” (Arches, 2007, pp. 59-60). Through the program, area youth have learned research techniques such as designing and administering their own survey and analyzing the data.

Bird, S. E., Ambiee, J. P., & Kuzin, J.(2007). Action research in a visual anthropology class: Lessons, frustrations, and achievements. In N. G. Hofman & H. Rosing (Eds.), Pedagogies of praxis: Course-based action research in the social sciences (pp. 111-132). Boston: Anker Publishing Company, Inc.

(Qualitative/action research; process; service-learning)

Action research can be utilized to address a wide array of community concerns. As an example, Bird, Ambiee, and Kuzin (2007) document attempts to connect a visual anthropology class to a social service provider working with adjudicated youth, by capturing on camera the cultural and arts programming of the community partner. At the end of the project, all involved had learned valuable lessons about conducting this type of work, including the importance of keeping the class small, building in mandatory debriefings and discussions about the work, and making sure the students understand that the class involves research, not just community service. This last point creates a potential difficulty, as teaching research skills and conducting research all in one term is exceptionally challenging.

Cahill, C. (2004). Defying gravity? Raising consciousness through collective research.
Children’s Geographies, 2 (2), pp. 273-286.

(Qualitative/action research; evaluation; research project)

Action research is evaluated as a means for awakening a critical consciousness and as a mechanism to confront stereotype. In this study, Cahill formed a research team with young women who live in the Lower East Side of New York to establish a contextualized understanding of young urban women and to assess how stereotypes about them make them feel. The discussion focuses on what the author calls three “turning points”: 1) emotional motivation; 2) politicization of personal experience; and 3) the power of speaking back with research. As such, a feminist theoretical framework is employed to capture the power of emotion within the young researchers. In response to studies that characterize these women in generalized ways, the research team produced a contradicting report based on their own lived experience, a website that serves as a safe space for other young women to express themselves, and “Stereotype Stickers” meant to motivate other young women to not buy into the dominant culture’s perception of them and their lives.

Sullivan, M., Kone, A., Senturia, K.D., Chrisman, N.J., Ciske, S.J., & Krieger, J.W. (2001). Researcher and researched-community perspectives: Toward bridging the gap. Health Education & Behavior, 28 (2), pp. 130-149.

(Qualitative research; evaluation; research project)

The purpose of this article was to examine the relationship between researchers and the communities they research. In particular, the authors point out that researchers need to acknowledge the history of exploitive relationships between higher education institutions and communities of color, and if researchers are not careful and fail to look at issues critically, community-based research (CBR) can result in greater harm coming to the community. For this study, the authors interviewed 41 respondents. The sample consisted of community members, staff of community-based organizations, and research project staff. The data revealed that informants feel that CBR is often based on stereotypes of the community, even going so far as to say that the research is occasionally based on racist assumptions. As such, misinterpretations of cultural context can lead to further stigmatizing.

In addition, respondents reported that power imbalances often interfere with creating true partnerships, and that community input often does not have any significant influence. Community informants said they wanted real two-way communication, and real two-way learning occurring. In essence, the community must benefit from the research. One way to achieve this would be to garner community involvement from the beginning of the research, which would help improve the sustainability of projects. Overall, greater discussion of issues related to race, class, gender, and power is needed to make institutions, and thus research, more culturally relevant.