Participatory Community-Based Research

by

Marquisha Lawrence Scott

• LAST MODIFIED: 24 October 2024
• DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780195389678-0340

Introduction

The research framework of participatory community-based research is most known as community-based participatory research (CBPR) and is presented with many names and acronyms throughout the literature in social work and other fields of study, including CBPR, participatory action research (PAR), youth PAR, feminist PAR, and community-based PAR. This bibliography describes articles that use varied names for this concept but have similar objectives. At the core of community participant-centered research is including community members in the design, development, and decisions of the research to ensure outcomes that serve their identified needs. These research outcomes are specific to the identified individuals or community, which makes this type of research notably nongeneralizable. Although much can be learned about process, approach, and impact by considering a CBPR project, each community’s research design and outcomes would likely be very different from others when using a CBPR approach. General details about CBPR and similar research frameworks are described in the General Works section, featuring articles and textbooks that describe the steps of carrying out these research projects, including building trust, addressing issues of power, and centering community. The different approaches to CBPR are shown through diverse articles and textbooks on specific stances that researchers and scholars can choose from when thinking about how to work with or learn about specific communities. There is also an opportunity to merge the varied approaches expressed in this bibliography, as the community and research team deems appropriate. A core ethic of the CBPR framework is addressing issues of power, privilege, and oppression in the community, between researchers and participants, and in wider society. CBPR has a nimbleness that allows it to be implemented in multiple settings with different types of people. The current literature highlights that this research framework can be carried out in the context of myriad crises—global pandemics, environmental disasters, and the demise of democracy. Social work research and practice spans varied topics that would align with the CBPR framework. In an effort to align with the social work practice and community concerns, the identified social work topics are CBPR projects centered on Race and Racism, Health and Mental Health Equity, issues Across the Lifespan, and LGBTQ Community concerns. These topics are addressed from a global perspective, including articles from various countries around the globe. This global approach is important given our interconnected world. Technology is also a consistent part of the global society. Therefore, it is an important topic to consider when we think about its impact on communities and how CBPR and technology can merge to yield positive outcomes.

General Works

CBPR and PAR hinge on three key aspects: participation, action, and community. Starting with Huffman 2017 can give readers an understanding of the process with definitions, allowing them to understand that the differences in names (CBPR, PAR, youth PAR, feminist PAR) are based on the community and not the spirit of the research framework. Beyond these key aspects, the CBPR research framework expands to meet the needs of the community or group being discussed. Sometimes that expansion is theoretical, as it is with Johnson and Flynn 2021, which poses that oppressive structures should be met with ideas that are feminist and participatory in nature to reduce barriers in social work practice, academia, and other areas where CBPR is needed. This theoretical conceptualization crosses disciplines. For instance, sociology is a close theoretical collaborator with social work, and Fahlberg 2023 offers additional theoretical framing of the impact of colonialism and other oppressive structures on communities. CBPR is also known for its practicality. Gehlert, et al. 2012 gives an extensive overview of the details of the framework through an in-depth bibliography. Moore and Donaldson 2022 focuses on how to use these frameworks as part of social work education to address the field’s need for social workers skilled in research and evidence-based practice. Reitz 2017, on the other hand, focuses on the practical nature of academic publishing while managing the expectations of how to navigate community-centered work that leads to effective action.

• Fahlberg, Anjuli. 2023. Decolonizing sociology through collaboration, co-learning and action: A case for participatory action research. Sociological Forum 38.1: 95–120.

  DOI: 10.1111/socf.12867

  Set in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, this article highlights how co-learning with community members most greatly affected by systems of oppression should be a core value of CBPR. Explores the impact of colonialism and social inequalities and how they can be better understood and reduced if more voices that have been historically excluded are not only included but also centered.

• Gehlert, Sarah, Sarah Kye-Price, and Venera Bekteshi. 2012. Community-based participatory research. In Oxford Bibliographies in Social Work. New York: Oxford Univ. Press.

  This earlier Oxford Bibliographies entry gives an overview of CBPR from the 2010s, including the basics of CBPR framing, a multitude of research methods including mixed and qualitative methods, and its focus on community needs, resources, and clear conversations centered on power, privilege, and oppression.

• Huffman, Tim. 2017. Participatory/action research/CBPR. In The International encyclopedia of communication research methods. Edited by Jörg Matthes, 1–10. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Blackwell.

  DOI: 10.1002/9781118901731.iecrm0180

  Centers on definitions of CBPR and its connection to similar research frameworks like PAR.

• Johnson, Holly, and Catherine Flynn. 2021. Collaboration for improving social work practice: The promise of feminist participatory action research. Affilia 36.3: 441–459.

  DOI: 10.1177/0886109920954424

  Using both feminist and participatory research theory, Johnson and Flynn show how even with careful consideration of power dynamics and seeking to limit oppressive structural barriers, they arise in CBPR. Exposes how PAR research can highlight structural barriers in social work, academia, and practice spaces, while offering ways to think about and report challenges.

• Moore, Sarah, and Linda Plitt Donaldson. 2022. Incorporating community based participatory action research in social work graduate education. Journal of Teaching in Social Work 42.4: 409–422.

  DOI: 10.1080/08841233.2022.2117761

  Written by social workers as a response to the increasing requirement for Master of Social Work graduates to incorporate research in their practice. Given the training barriers with some graduate students and the difficulty of CBPR, this article provides guidelines and possible steps for educators to better engage in research in their communities during graduate training.

• Reitz, Megan. 2017. Analyzing and communicating action research data: Practical approaches to conveying the quality and texture of experience. Action Research 15.4: 424–440.

  DOI: 10.1177/1476750316660364

  Focuses on methods to help develop theory and capture the experiences of both the process and the people’s needs. Through methods such as five-column analysis and key moment analysis, the author offers practical approaches to analyzing a cooperative inquiry group, but they could be used for other community approaches.