Connecting with communities
In community based research, collaborating and connecting with communities is vital in fostering trust and gaining nuanced understandings. Connecting with communities enriches research and is the fabric woven throughout community based participatory research.
Community-based participatory research
Katie Bouwman
Community-Based Participatory Research refers to research that is focused on working with and alongside specific communities to ensure their voices are being heard and to answer their research questions (Hughes & Santinele Martino, 2023). It also works to create a space where there can be co-creation of knowledge between researchers and members of the community (Dunbar Winsor et al., 2022). Hughes and Santinele Martino (2023) discuss four main principles around which community-based participatory research is based. These principles include understanding that one’s community is a part of their identity, working to build on the strengths that are apparent in the communities, creating collaborative partnerships and empowering those in the community. There are different ways that this type of research can be approached, one of which is to have members of the identified community on in an active research or head role. An example of this can be seen through the research that was done by Hughes and Santinele Martino. Hughes is a gay and transgender man and Santinele Martino is openly queer and disabled, and together, they research the experiences and desired supports of LGBTQ+ adults with intellectual and/or development disabilities (Hughes & Santinele Martino, 2023). Another way this type of research can be approached is to hold review sessions where the community can give their opinion on the research and results (Dunbar Winsor et al., 2023). An example of this is when Dunbar Winsor et al. (2023) completed a peer review session for their awareness campaign for fetal alcohol spectrum disorder to get feedback from individuals with lived experience.
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(Photo credit to Spiske, 2022)
Community-based
participatory research
Marshall Campbell
Community-based participatory research (CBPR) is a partnership approach to research that strives for equitable relations among researchers, community members, and organizations (Israel et al., 2005). CBPR attempts to de-center notions of academic expertise and involves a commitment to the co-creation of knowledge alongside communities (Jull et al., 2017). Partners involved in the research process are individuals with lived experience, community organizations, and academics with knowledge of research methods. Community partners are viewed as having legitimate and expert knowledge that they bring to research settings. They are involved in research at every step, from issue identification to dissemination of findings (Jull et al., 2017). CBPR aims to directly benefit all partners in the research (Israel et al., 2005).
CBPR methodology allows researchers to use a variety of qualitative research techniques and procedures to gather and analyze data (Jull et al., 2017). Because of its flexibility, it is suitable for use with a wide range of populations. The core commitment of CBPR to social justice and equity in the research environment and means it is best suited to work with marginalized and vulnerable populations, including (but not limited to) children, Indigenous peoples, and people using substances (Israel et al., 2005; Morton-Ninomiya & Pollock, 2017; Nathoo et al., 2013). Its principles of equity, justice, and reciprocity can also be applied to research that does not involve human participants (Liboiron et al., 2021).
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(Photo credit to Rounce, 2018)
Community-based
participatory research with children
Sam Walsh
Community-based participatory research with children is all about giving agency to the child being researched. As the researchers are older and more experienced, the researcher and participant relationship automatically creates an imbalanced power dynamic. (O’Kane, 2008 as cited in Carter & Ford, 2012). Furthermore, participants don’t have control over the environments they are put in and, as such, end up reliant on adults for guidance due to the lack of agency provided to children in our society (O’Kane, 2008 as cited in Carter & Ford, 2012). Doing research with children requires careful care, sensitivity and an understanding of each child’s circumstances to properly adapt the research to work for and with them (Carter & Ford, 2012). The researcher must consider the way that the child wants to share their story, whether that be through art, storytelling, technology or some other form (Carter & Ford, 2012).
Researchers may choose to use triggers to stimulate the child’s participation in the research which allows for time and space to contribute (Carter & Ford, 2012). Providing extra care and planning efforts can lead to more accessibility for children. Participatory approaches are unique because they can look at children’s unique experiences with value and status (Clark, 2010, as cited in Carter & Ford, 2012).
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(Photo credit to Kemper, 2021)
Community peer review
Chloe Jackson
The goal of community peer review is to strengthen communication between community partners and research teams by engaging in consistent dialogue and honouring the community’s right to self-determination (Liboiron et al., 2018). It is a method that can be taken up by any research team whose work will involve the participation of a certain target community, or whose findings have the potential to have an impact on a given community. Community peer review can be especially advantageous when working with stigmatized populations or communities that have been systemically harmed by research institutions in the past (Dunbar et al., 2022). Conversations with community members allow for disagreement with or rejection of any aspects of the research to be voiced and community-level consent to be attained (Liboiron et al., 2018). Consent at the community-level requires the researchers to be attentive to differential access to power among individuals in the community, raising awareness to the subtler ways in which people may consent or reject to certain research practices (e.g., unenthusiasm, disengagement, etc.). This grants agency to community members to decide whether research is conducted, how it should be carried out, and methods of circulating results. These decisions serve to recognize communities as valued knowledge holders who are best able to identify harms that may stem from the research process (Liboiron et al., 2018). This issue is not without nuance, as there are times when researchers must make executive decisions about integrating feedback that could perpetuate pre-existing power imbalances or harmful narratives about the target population, and therefore would not serve the overall purpose of the research project (Dunbar et al., 2022). .
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(Photo credit to Sincerely Media, 2020)