Special Seminars in Research Methods for Practice and Policy

Community residents, community-based and community serving organizations and scholars are increasingly collaborating in efforts to eliminate social, health and other disparities and improve community wellbeing.

This interdisciplinary seminar focuses on one aspect of this collaboration: community-based participatory research (CBPR). CBPR begins with issues of importance to the community and has the aim of “combining knowledge with action and achieving social change…” (W.K. Kellogg Community Health Scholars Program). All partners share, develop and contribute expertise and responsibility for assuring successful project planning, implementation and evaluation; disseminating research results; and working to sustain successful project outcomes in the community. The readings, discussion, activities, case examples and instructors, from academia and community-based organizations will offer participants the opportunity to explore the theoretical bases, core principles and applications in the real world, of this approach to research. With examples from both quantitative and qualitative research methods, we will contrast CBPR to more traditional approaches to knowledge generation and planning, implementing and evaluating community, environmental, behavior and policy change interventions and partnerships.
The course will provide an in depth examination of how CBPR influences, and are influenced by, complex scientific, ethical, multicultural and social justice issues. We will analyze the challenges and strengths, practical applications and strategies of this approach to research from the perspective of students, faculty, community organizations and residents. This seminar is an offering of the doctoral program that is also open to advanced (2nd year and beyond) master’s level students. It assumes at least a basic background in research methods.

• Previously 837 Strategies and Issues for Community Based Research

Please note: This course is interdisciplinary by design. Participants from other schools are welcome!

Course Objectives:

Upon completion of the course, participants will be able to:

1. Define and describe the theoretical bases and core principles of community-based participatory research (CBPR) for planning, developing, implementing, evaluating, disseminating results and sustaining successful outcomes of research projects aimed at understanding and addressing social and health issues and disparities.

2. Contrast how social science research methods (both quantitative and qualitative) are used in CBPR compared to more traditional research approaches. Examples may include surveys, focus groups, randomized clinical trials, in-depth interviews and others.

3. Identify, analyze and discuss how CBPR principles and processes influence, and are influenced by scientific, ethical, multicultural, and social justice issues, including power dynamics, resource availability and allocation, interpersonal and organizational conflict, and the needs and expectations of academic, community-based, community serving and funding organizations and community residents.

4. Identify the purpose, and analyze the challenges and strengths of, CBPR approaches to, developing and maintaining partnerships among academic, community-based and community-serving organizations and community residents. Partner roles, communication and capacity building as they apply to development, implementation and evaluation of basic research and program and policy interventions will be emphasized.

5. Develop and present a CBPR proposal applicable to a specific community.