Research Component |
Traditional Academic Research |
Community-Based Research |
|
Primary goal of the research |
Advance knowledge within a discipline |
Contribute to betterment of a particular community; social change;social justice |
|
Source of the research question |
Exant theoretical or empirical work in a discipline |
Community-identified problem or need for information |
|
Who designs and conducts the research? |
Trained researcher, perhaps with the help of paid assistants |
Trained researchers, students, community members in collaboration |
|
Role of researcher |
Outside expert |
Collaborator, partner, learner |
|
Role of community |
Object to be studied ("community as laboratory") or no role at all |
Collaborator, partner, learner |
|
Role of Student |
None or as research assistants |
Collaborator, partner, learner |
|
Relationship between researcher and participant-respondent |
Short-term; task-oriented; detached |
Long-term, multi-faceted, connected |
|
Measure of value of research |
Acceptance by academic peers |
Usefulness for community partners; contribution to social change |
|
Criteria for selecting data collection methods |
Conformity to standards of rigor, objectivity, research-control; preference for quantitative and positivistic approaches |
Potential for drawing out useful information, sensitivity to experiential knowledge, conformity to standards of rigor and accessibility; open to a variety and combination of approaches |
|
Beneficiaries of the research |
Academic researcher |
Academic researcher, student, community |
|
Ownership of the data |
Academic researcher |
Community and researchers |
|
Mode of data presentation |
Written report |
Varies widely and may take multiple and creative forms: video; theater; written narrative |
|
Means of dissemination |
Presentation at academic conference; submission to journal |
Any and all forms where results might have impact: public meetings; informal community settings; legislative bodies; etc. |
