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COMMUNITY-BASED RESEARCH. An Introduction for Faculty. Presented by Brenda Marsteller Kowalewski Community Involvement Center, Co-Director Weber State University for Teaching Learning Forum September 17, 2007.
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COMMUNITY-BASED RESEARCH An Introduction for Faculty Presented by Brenda Marsteller Kowalewski Community Involvement Center, Co-Director Weber State University for Teaching Learning Forum September 17, 2007 A presentation developed by the National Community-Based Research Networking Initiative
CBR: AN OVERVIEW • What is CBR? • Principles of Practice • How does it differ from traditional research? • Why do CBR? • Pedagogical Methods • Benefits & Challenges • What It Takes • Examples of CBR at WSU • Resources
CBR: WHAT IS IT? • A collaborative, participatory research process that embraces: • Research • Community has information needs • Campus partners have research tools and resources • Education • Community has valuable local knowledge & experience • Campus partners have theoretical and large scale perspectives • Action • Build organizational and community capacity • Effect policy change
CBR: Definition • “CBR is a partnership of students, faculty, and community members who collaboratively engage in research with the purpose of solving a pressing community problem or affecting social change” (Strand, et al., 2003).
CBR: Principles of CBR • CBR is a collaborative enterprise between researchers and community members. • CBR involves the democratization of knowledge • CBR has as its goal social action and social change for the purpose of achieving social justice (Strand et al., 2003: p. 8).
CBR: Collaboration • research with andfor the community. • community partners should be working with students and professors at every stage in the research process.
CBR: Democratization of Knowledge • knowledge brought to the project by all partners involved is equally valued • multiple research methods are used • user friendly approaches to the dissemination of knowledge are provided • conventional assumptions about knowledge itself are challenged
CBR: Social Change for Social Justice • produce information that can be used to bring about needed change • findings of the research or the process itself might contribute to social change
CBR: Vs. Traditional Research TraditionalCBR Goal of Research Advance Address knowledge social need advancement Source of Question Existing work Community identified need Designer/ResearcherTrained Trained • researcher researcher + students + comm. partner
CBR: Vs. Traditional Research TraditionalCBR Researcher Outside Collaborator Role expert Role of None or RA Partners Students Role of Subject to be Knowledgeable Community studied partner
CBR: Vs. Traditional Research TraditionalCBR Relationship of Short-term Long- Researcher & & detached term + Participantsconnected and multi- faceted Measure of value Acceptance by Usefulness to of the research academic peers partners (as well as publish)
CBR: Vs. Traditional Research TraditionalCBR MethodologyConform to Conform to Criteria/ rigor rigor Methods Objectivity & Open to positivistic new info. Researcher Flexibility control Quantitative Mixed
CBR: Vs. Traditional Research TraditionalCBR Beneficiaries Researcher, Researcher, Field students, & community “Owner” of Researcher Researcher, Research students, & community
CBR: Vs. Traditional Research TraditionalCBR Presentation &Articles, Articles, DisseminationConference Conference of Findings presentation, presentation, Books/Chapter Books/chapter Reports, Public meeting, Art work/media
CBR: WHY DO IT? • Complex social problems ill-suited to “outside expert” research alone • Impact community capacity • Build long-term relationship with community partners • Effective method of teaching and learning for all participants • The ultimate form of service-learning?
CBR: Ultimate S-L Experience • The quality of service-learning is enhanced through CBR in that it offers the most opportunities for: • collaboration • direct application of course content • potential for social change
CBR: PEDAGOGICAL METHODS • Course-based options model • CBR-based semester courses • Long-term, course-based projects • Interdisciplinary, multi-course collaborative projects
CBR: BENEFITS • Community • Access to faculty expertise • Organizational capacity building • Policy change • Students • Develop new skills • Improve existing skills • Connect classroom learning with real-world application • Faculty • Enhanced teaching credentials • New venues for publishing and presenting • Positively impact students and community
CBR: CHALLENGES • Unpredictability • Calendar conflicts • Role confusion • Participant compensation/ recognition
CBR: WHAT DOES IT TAKE? • Time • Long-term vision • Communication • Flexibility • Willingness to develop research process with community input
CBR: Examples at WSU • Lauren Fowler, Psychology • Bryan Dorsey, Geography
CBR: RESOURCES • National Community-Based Research Networking Initiativewww.cbrnet.org • CBR Course and Project Databasewww.bonner.org/campus/cbr/profiles.taf • Campus-Community Partnerships for Healthwww.ccph.info • Community-Based Research & Higher Education: Principles & PracticesStrand, Marullo, Cutforth, et. al.