Chapter Three:
The Aims of
Community Research
Outline
Identifying values in research
Philosophy of science
Community collaborations
Defining ecological levels
Action Research in Community
Psychology
Community Research Practice: Shared
Commitments in Contextually Grounded Inquiry
Questions for Conducting
Community Research
Who will generate what knowledge, for
whom, and for what purposes?
1. What values and assumptions do we bring to our work?
2. How can we promote community participation and
collaboration in research decisions?
3. How do we understand the cultural and social contexts of this
research?
4. At what ecological levels of analysis will we conduct this
research?
Is Research Value-Neutral?
Images L to R: Vince Mig / FreeDigitalPhotos.net /
http://renovomedia.com/news/chicago-youth-violence-is-an-epidemic/
Philosophies of Science in CP
Positivism
“Traditional” Psychology
Knowledge is Value-Free Objectivity
Core, central “truth”
Cause and effect
Quantitative measurement
Generalizability
Control
Philosophies of Science in CP
Post-Positivism
Knowledge is context specific
Built through a shared understanding
Cause and effect
Hypothesis testing
Experimental
Philosophies of Science in CP
Critical Theory
Knowledge is shaped by power relations
Researcher and the researched
Activist stance to deconstruct power relations
attends to marginalized voices
Philosophies of Science in CP
Constructivist
Knowledge is a subjective reality built through
collaborative relationships
Researcher and the researched (i.e. community)
Understanding lived experiences
Contextual meaning making
Philosophies of Science in CP (Table 3.1)
Philosophy Epistemology Methodology
“Knowledge is…” “Emphasis is on…”
Postpositivist Built through shared Understanding cause and
understanding, using rigorous effect, hypothesis-testing, and
science. experimental methods.
Constructivist Created collaboratively in Understanding contexts,
relationships between meanings, and lived
researchers and participants. experiences.
Qualitative methods.
Critical Shaped by power Integrating research and
relationships and location action, attending to unheard
within social systems. voices, and challenging
injustice.
1. Identifying Values
CP do not view research as value-neutral
Need to understand your own values as a
“producer of research”
Need to understand the values of others as a
“consumers of research”
Types of values to consider
Social/Cultural
Scientific
Role of the CP Researcher
Use values to guide your work
Use defensible methods
Be willing to be wrong (test your ideas)
Recognize value of opposing views
Look for divergent solutions
Attend to unheard voices
Begin research at the level of those impacted but
without a voice, without power
Participatory Community Research
Questions for Conducting
Community Research
Who will generate what knowledge, for
whom, and for what purposes?
1. What values and assumptions do we bring to our
work?
2. How can we promote community participation
and collaboration in research decisions?
3. How do we understand the cultural and social
contexts of this research?
4. At what ecological levels of analysis will we
conduct this research?
CBPR, PAR, AR, etc
Process of Research
Establising Partnerships
What are the values of the researchers and
community?
Research Decisions
Who is involved?
What methods are used?
Research products and impact
How findings are used and disseminated?
2. Promoting Community Participation and
Collaboration in Research
Context counts in data collection.
Nature of the relationship between researcher and
community members matters.
Can allow for new insights into community.
Need to benefit communities, not just
researchers.
Resist “data mining.”
Swampscott ideal: participant-conceptualizer
Participatory & collaborative research
A Legacy of Distrust:
Tuskegee Syphilis Study (1932-1972)
Surviving Tuskegee Patients
at the White House 1997
Images: Public Domain / en.wikipedia.org
So, Promoting Collaboration
involves
Q: What are our responsibilities to the
research participants and their communities?
Develop partnerships.
Collaborate on research decisions.
Create research products with an impact.
Use action research to partner with community
members to address social conditions.
Questions for Conducting
Community Research
Who will generate what knowledge, for
whom, and for what purposes?
1. What values and assumptions do we bring to our
work?
2. How can we promote community participation
and collaboration in research decisions?
3. How do we understand the cultural and social
contexts of this research?
4. At what ecological levels of analysis will we
conduct this research?
Cultural vs. Social Variables
Cultural variables
Views and practices that are transmitted to
successive generations through socialization
because they are valued.
Social variables
Aspects, processes (mechanisms for maintaining),
and products (results) of social stratification.
May or may not be valued by cultural group.
Poverty, low education, and unemployment have
never been aspects of anyone’s culture!
Source: Landrine & Klonoff (2001). Cultural diversity and health psychology.
Methodological Traps involving
Culture
Trap 1: Categorization = Identification
Checking the “Caucasian” or “African American” or other
race/ethnicity box on a survey does not assess
identification with group, only categorization.
For example, to what extent do each of these men
identify with “Caucasian” values?
Images (L to R): Dynamite Imagery, photostock, Maggie Smith, photostock / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Trap 2: All members of a cultural or social
group are alike across life domains
Are these Indigenous/Native American/Indian
individuals all alike in terms of religiosity,
politics, etc.?
Assumptions of
population homogeneity
are rarely warranted.
Image: EA / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Trap 3: Measures mean the same
things across cultures
English depression and Japanese yuutsu are
not equivalent.
US citizens defined as “sad”
and “lonely.” Image: nuttakit / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Japanese citizens defined as “dark” and “rain.”
Westerners are very used to filling out surveys
– not familiar across cultures.
False assumptions of methodological
equivalence.
Trap 4: Between- vs. Within-Group
Design
Between-Group
Compare multiple cultures.
Difficulty with measurement equality.
Can be difficult to interpret findings well.
Within-Group
Deeply understand one culture.
Identify unique practices, qualities, strengths.
Can look at cultural subgroups.
Culturally-Anchored Research
Understand own culture and its influence on
your worldview.
Study many aspects of the culture of interest.
Gain experience with & knowledge
Image: africa / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
of a community.
Commit to prolonged engagement.
Challenge stance of neutrality.
Questions for Conducting
Community Research
Who will generate what knowledge, for
whom, and for what purposes?
1. What values and assumptions do we bring to our
work?
2. How can we promote community participation
and collaboration in research decisions?
3. How do we understand the cultural and social
contexts of this research?
4. At what ecological levels of analysis will we
conduct this research?
Ecological Levels of Analysis
Image: WorldNews.com
Research on
Child Maltreatment
Example: Child Maltreatment
Level Focus of Study
Individual Interview victims of child abuse to understand lasting
effects
Microsystem Test the effectiveness of a positive parenting class
(e.g., family)
Organization Study the effectiveness of a curriculum-based program
(e.g., schools) designed to educate children why and how to report
abuse
Localities Examine rates of ER visits by geographical area
(e.g., towns)
Macrosystems Examine effectiveness of national ad campaign
(e.g., social encouraging parents to take a time out when they get
movements) angry
Studying Ecological Levels
Examples of “higher level” methodologies:
Social climate of setting
Combined survey responses of setting participants on
perceptions of environmental characteristics.
Outside observation of setting or group
Record community-level changes
Archival data, broader indicators
Combine data collected across methods and
ecological levels.
