Community-Based Participatory Research

Owned by Darlene Edgar
Last updated: May 27, 2024
2 min read

Syeed, E., Kumar, M. M., Lowe, N., Moran, D., & Rucobo, K. (2020). Getting uncomfortable with difficult knowledge: A reflexive account of a community-based research project. Collaborations: A Journal of Community-based Research and Practice, 3(1), 3. DOI: http://doi.org/10.33596/coll.44

Community-Based Research Project Overview:

  • Collaboration with local nonprofit focusing on social justice camps for high school youth.

  • Utilized interviews and focus groups with former participants to understand long-term impacts.

  • Explored struggles in developing critical consciousness and engaging with difficult knowledge.

  • Student Research Collective:

    • Comprised four students from diverse backgrounds, religions, ethnicities, and sexual orientations.

    • Aimed to delve into the differences between service learning and community-based research.

  • Challenges in Service Learning:

    • Traditionally privileged perspectives dominate service learning experiences.

    • Concerns about reinforcing deficit notions and unacknowledged power and privilege dynamics.

    • Differentiating between community-based learning and service learning, emphasizing the former.

  • Research Process:

    • Developed a toolkit for campus stakeholders to create research projects with local organizations.

    • Conducted member checking and think-out-loud sessions with organizational staff.

    • Employed focus groups and interviews to gather camper experiences and feedback.

  • Difficult Knowledge Framework:

    • Examined the concept of difficult knowledge intersecting with camper experiences.

    • Defined difficult knowledge as traumatic social events represented in the curriculum.

    • Explored the emotional impact of engaging with difficult knowledge for students and educators.

  • Reflexivity and Positionality:

    • Situated the identity and reflexivity of student researchers within the research process.

    • Advocated for embracing uncomfortable reflexivity to challenge power dynamics and address difficult knowledge.

    • Shared lessons on managing emotional labor and supporting students coping with difficult knowledge.

  • Student Researchers' Reflections:

    • Student researchers reflected on their motivations for engaging in sociology.

    • Wrestled with feelings of marginality and de-colonization, contemplating pathways for social change.

    • Explored solidarity and connection with the organization and participants, addressing power imbalances.

  • Guidance for Student Researchers:

    • Encouraged nonlinear paths of reflection and analysis, embracing discomfort as part of the journey.

    • Advocated for mentorship and creating inclusive spaces within research teams.

    • Emphasized the importance of critical reflection while avoiding being consumed by challenges.