Communitybased research takes place in community
settings and involves community members in the design and implementation
of research projects. Such activities should demonstrate respect
for the contributions of success which are made by community partners
as well as respect for the principle of "doing no harm"
to the communities involved.
In order to achieve these goals, the following principles
should guide the development of research projects involving collaboration
between researchers and community partners, whether the community
partners are formally structured communitybased organizations
or informal groups of individual community members.
In order to avoid confusion and potential misunderstandings,
faculty and community partners alike are encouraged to explicitly
review and discuss these principles as they apply to specific
projects.
Community partners should be involved at the earliest
stages of the project, helping to define research objectives and
having input into how the project will be organized.
Community partners should have real influence on
project direction-that is, enough leverage to ensure that the
original goals, mission, and methods of the project are adhered
to.
Research processes and outcomes should benefit the
community. Community members should be hired and trained whenever
possible and appropriate, and the research should help build and
enhance community assets.
Community members should be part of the analysis
and interpretation of data and should have input into how the
results are distributed. This does not imply censorship of data
or of publication, but rather the opportunity to make clear the
community's views about the interpretation prior to final publication.
Productive partnerships between researchers and community
members should be encouraged to last beyond the life of the project.
This will make it more likely that research findings will be incorporated
into ongoing community programs and therefore provide the greatest
possible benefit to the community from research.
Community members should be empowered to initiate
their own research projects which address needs they identify
themselves.
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