CBR Faculty Fellows Program
Presented by:
Brenda Marsteller Kowalewski
September 16, 2009

Outline the ideal principles of CBR and
discuss how they translate to a real CBR
project.
 Collaboration
 Democratization of knowledge
 Social Justice

Outline the steps in CBR practices and
identify any special considerations necessary
in a CBR project as opposed to traditional
research.

Community is involved in each stage and
phase of the CBR project





Identifying the research question
Choosing a research design and method
Collecting the data
Analyzing the data
Reporting the results

Full collaboration is not often achieved
◦ Working with grassroots orgs – often unorganized
◦ Working with one step up from grassroots
 CBR in the middle
 Agencies are more organized, leadership established
but puts more distance between researcher and the
organization’s clients

Bare minimum for collaboration
◦ Defining research focus and question
◦ How and if the results will be used

Family Self Sufficiency Program – Ogden
Housing Authority
◦ Handout – book chapter



CBR makes professors, students and
community members all knowledge
producers
Use mixed research methods – quote p. 78
CBR insists on connectedness and
relationship building; distance increases
inaccuracy

Researchers often struggle because of our
training in traditional research and within our
disciplines
◦ CBR challenges traditional conceptions of expertise
and objectivity
◦ CBR neither recognizes nor respects rigid
disciplinary boundaries – real problems don’t fit
neatly into any one discipline


CBR seeks to “contribute to altering some
aspects of the political, social, or economic
institutional operations or cultural context
that give rise to a problem” – p. 81
Challenge the status quo

Change is often times small
◦ Whereas research may be the focus of the
researcher, it is only one small part of a bigger
project for the community.
◦ Creating or affecting social change is difficult and
knowledge is only one of the resources necessary to
create any change

Researchers have a hard time translating their
findings into action.
◦ Youth Impact example

Roles of the Researcher in Social Change (p. 84)
◦ Initiator – manages the social change project as well as
the research
◦ *Consultant – manages the research only, and from a
distance
◦ Collaborator – Is a full participant in social change
project, but primarily as researcher or educator
*Most researchers

Step One – Choosing a problem

Step Two – Identifying resources and solutions

Step Three – Developing a plan

Step Four – Implementing the plan

Step Five – Evaluating
◦ Specifying what the range of problems might be or extent of a problem;
example Youth Impact research
◦ Research on what resources already exist or researching solutions or
models
◦ Introspective research where a group analyzes itself
◦ Research as action – Freedom Riders example, p. 92
◦ Research done by the powerless on the powerful; participatory evaluation;
example p. 93

Steps in CBR Project
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦

Identify the research question
Choose a research design and method
Collect the data
Analyze the data
Report the results
There are special considerations that need to
be made at each step in a CBR project




Connect with a community organization
needing research
Find out what they want to know
Translate what they want to know into a
manageable research question
Write the research question(s) down and post

Traditional Research & CBR
◦ Resources (time, money, people) available
◦ Population characteristics
◦ Population availability
◦ Orientation and skills of the researcher
◦ The nature of the research question

Additional criteria for CBR
◦ Purpose of the research
◦ Skill levels of students and community members
◦ Academic time crunch
◦ Learning goals

Do you involve community members in data
collection?
◦ Benefits




Rewarding for community members
Can act as “informants”
Can build community relationships
Community members develop expertise or skills
◦ Challenges
 Community members may be willing but are untrained
 Risk that data collection will not get done on time or
done well enough

From sources other than humans
◦ Archives and agency data, public records,
newspapers, web sites, organizational charts, land
use records, transcripts (YI example), etc.
◦ Challenges – incomplete or incomprehensible
records, bureaucratic regulations that limit access,
uncooperative or incompetent gatekeepers, bad
weather, etc.

From human subjects
◦ More challenging than gathering samples from other
sources
◦ Securing participants
◦ Sample size and representativeness take a back seat
◦ Ethical issues – protecting the privacy and dignity of
respondents
 IRB Application Form
http://www.weber.edu/IRB/application_form.html
 Training for students
http://cme.cancer.gov/clinicaltrials/learning/humanparticipant
-protections.asp

Ideally, faculty, students and community
partners are involved
◦ Academic researchers bring experience, training
and access resources
◦ Students carry out the data entry and analysis
◦ Community partners provide an insider’s view on
findings and their uses

Most CBR analysis can be done with basic
training and resources

Key Questions:
◦ In what format should results be presented?
◦ Where should results be shared?
◦ Who should present the findings?








Written Reports
PowerPoint presentation
Skit
Colorful Poster illustrating key results in
graphs
Press release
Press conference
Theatrical presentation
Demonstration or rally

Campus-based presentations
◦ Sharing results with community partners
◦ Service Symposium

Community-based presentations

Academic Conferences



If the social change requires the action of an
external party, the researcher may be the most
appropriate person to present.
If the students have been the most intimately
involved with the CBR project or if the project
involves some politically charged issue, the
students may be the most appropriate.
If the research is primarily for the community, it
may be best received if community members
present the findings.