Research Methods for Community Change: A Project-Based Approach

Everyone is a member of a community, and every community is continually changing. To successfully manage that change, community members need information. Research Methods for Community Change: A Project-Based Approach is an in-depth review of all of the research methods that communities use to solve problems, develop their resources, and protect their identities. With an engaging, friendly style and numerous real world examples, author Randy Stoecker shows readers how to use a project-based research model in the community. The four features of the model are * Diagnosing a community condition * Prescribing an intervention for the condition * Implementing the prescription * Evaluating its impact At every stage of this model there are research tasks, from needs and assets assessments at the diagnosis stage to process and outcome studies at the evaluation stage. Readers will also learn the importance of involving community members at every stage of the project and in every aspect of the research, making the research part of the community-building process. Research Methods for Community Change is perfectly suited as a text for undergraduate and graduate research methods courses across the social sciences, including sociology, social work, and public health. Community service workers, professional researchers, and consultants will also find this an invaluable guide to effecting change in their communities. "At last! A concise, insightful and highly useful book on research methods for community action and social change. Drawing from his own rich experiences as well as from broader literature and examples, Stoecker demonstrates that valuable research is not the monopoly of professional researchers, but can be used by people anywhere as a tool for organizing and developing their communities.  Highly readable, grounded in analysis, and full of practical approaches, this book will be an important resource for activists, students, scholars, policy makers and community development practitioners who seek to use research for more effective and sustainable change." —John Gaventa, Fellow, Institute for Development Studies, Sussex, U.K. "Drawing from his own experiences and from case studies from across the nation, Stoecker offers an empowering and remarkably accessible discussion of how project-based research models build community and democracy by redistributing both power and responsibility. It is an informative and valuable text that makes a convincing case that research must become daily practice for all who are committed to working for effective social change." —Stephen L. Fisher, Director, Appalachian Center for Community Service, Emory & Henry College "Stoecker′s highly readable book is a great leap forward in expanding the definition and practice of research and documentation through collaboration between academics and community activists. He makes project-based research accessible to readers through lively, real examples that involve creative and strategic use of sources and resources. Stoecker shows how good quality research can make meaningful differences in people′s lives. The book is perfect for use in both classrooms and nonprofit organizations." —Kathleen Staudt, University of Texas at El Paso "At last, a book that demystifies research for both novice and experienced community workers who want to make a difference. Randy Stoecker presents a refreshingly innovative and accessible challenge to more conventional texts." —Linda Briskman, Associate Professor of Social Work, RMIT University, Australia

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments 1. "But I Don′t Do Research" "But I Don′t Do Research" "So What Is Research?" "Okay, So I Do Research Already. Why Do I Need to Learn About It?" "I′m Already Running Full-Out Managing Our Programs. How Can I Do More Research Too?" "I′m Still Not Convinced. But Just In Case, Where Do I Start?" "So Where Do I and My Community Fit In?" Conclusion and Coming Attractions The Goose Story Resources Notes 2. The Goose Approach to Research Have You Ever Felt Like an Interloper? Participatory Approaches to Research A Participatory Approach to Project-Based Research Building Participatory Relationships: The Researcher Side Building Participatory Relationships: The Community Side Loose Gravel Conclusion Resources Notes 3. Head and Hand Together: A Project-Based Research Model The Head and Hand Split From Head and Hand to Research and Action Of Programs and Projects The Project Model: Diagnose, Prescribe, Implement, Evaluate The Project Model and Participatory Flexibility Where Are You In the Project Cycle? Loose Gravel Conclusion Resources Notes 4. Diagnosing How to Survive on a Deserted Island The Impetus for Diagnosis Structures for a Diagnostic Process: The Core Group Strategies for a Diagnostic Process: Problems and Opportunities The Problems Approach: Needs Assessment The Opportunities Approach: Asset Mapping Of Needs and Resources Loose Gravel Conclusion Resources Notes 5. Prescribing: Researching Options Which Way Should You Go From Here? Inward-Looking vs. Outward-Looking Social Change: Services and Policies A Planning Approach The Special Case of Policy Prescriptions Loose Gravel Conclusion Resources Notes 6. Implementing: When Research Is the Project Making Who-ville Heard Research as Action Community Research Target Research Loose Gravel Conclusion Resources Notes 7. Evaluation Back to the Future, or Messing With the Space-Time Continuum Choices in Evaluation Participatory Evaluation From the Beginning Participatory Evaluation as an Integrated Process Loose Gravel Conclusion Resources Notes 8. Beyond Information: Research as an Organizational Lifestyle The Montessori, Goose Approach, Popular Education, Tennis Coach Model of Project-Based Research The Project-Based Research Cycle Revisited Role Models for Research as a Daily Practice Behind the Fun: Information Management and Information Technology Loose Gravel: Information Myths and Monsters In Conclusion Notes Appendix A: Strategic Planning Appendix B: Research Ethics Appendix C: Writing Proposals Appendix D: Data Resources Index About the Author

About the Author :
Randy Stoecker is a Professor of Community and Environmental Sociology at the University of Wisconsin, with a joint appointment at the University of Wisconsin Extension Center for Community and Economic Development. He is the moderator/editor of COMM-ORG: The On-Line Conference on Community Organizing and Development (http://comm-org.wisc.edu). His areas of expertise include community organizing and development, participatory action research/evaluation, and community information technology. He has been involved in a wide variety of community-based participatory research projects and participatory evaluations with community development corporations, community organizing groups, and community information technology programs across North America and Australia. He also helped build and evaluate university-community collaborations through the Corella and Bertram F. Bonner Foundation’s Learn and Serve America Community Research Project. Randy trains, speaks and writes extensively on community organizing and development, community-based participatory research, service learning, and community information technology. He is author of Defending Community (1994) co-author of Community-Based Research and Higher Education (2003), and co-editor of The Unheard Voices: Community Organizations and Service Learning (2009). You can find his complete curriculum vitae at http://comm-org.wisc.edu/stoeckerfolio/stoeckvita.htm. He resides in Madison, Wisconsin with his wife and 50-pound standard poodle (his daughter is now away at college), and wishes he lived in a society where research has become such an integral part of the culture that people are no longer fooled into making self-destructive political choices.

Review :
In this book, Randy Stoecker fills a void in the applied research methods literature. His discussion of participatory approaches to project-based research serves as an important reference work for academics and practitioners. The book appeals to a broad audience, focusing on the types of projects graduates of sociology, social work, public administration, and planning departments do in applied settings. The strategies outlined in the book can assist in expanding the role of stakeholders in the research process and enhancing the quality of research conducted by local government, community-based organizations, and other nonprofits. This book presents, in very unintimidating terms, the overall process of research and suggests milestones as well as hazards to watch out for in the path ahead. In addition to a course text, it can act as an in-process handbook to be repeatedly consulted during the research process. Stoecker′s highly readable book is a great leap forward in expanding the definition and practice of research and documentation through collaboration between academics and community activists. He makes project-based research accessible to readers through lively, real examples that involve creative and strategic use of sources and resources. Stoecker shows how good quality research can make meaningful differences in people′s lives. The book is perfect for use in both classrooms and nonprofit organizations. Randy Stoecker uses a lively blend of real world experience, scholarly understanding, and activism to take readers on the bumpy but exhilarating road that is project-based community research. Written in plain English with humor and stories from the front lines, Research Methods for Community Change is a pure delight and a ′must read′ for researchers, practitioners, community members, funders, and anyone committed to community based research that can make a difference. Increasingly, academics and policy makers are drawn into complex activities which engage in community change and trust-building. Research Methods for Community Change is a theoretically rich, insightful, yet practical and carefully written toolbox of ideas and techniques that can be fruitfully read and used by academics, practitioners or public officials. Significantly, its lessons are also applicable internationally to any community where there is a concern for using research to underpin social and democratic renewal. At last! A concise, insightful and highly useful book on research methods for community action and social change.  Drawing on his own rich experiences as well as broader literature and examples, Stoecker demonstrates that valuable research is not the monopoly of professional researchers, but can be used by people anywhere as a tool for organizing and developing their communities.  Highly readable, grounded in analysis, and full of practical approaches, this book will be an important resource for activists, students, scholars, policy makers and community development practitioners who seek to use research for more effective and sustainable change. This clearly written and insightful book makes an important contribution to the field of community-based research. Randy Stoecker makes use of his rich background as a scholar, activist, and teacher to gives us what we desperately need -- a compelling vision and concrete strategies to enable diverse individuals and organizations to produce knowledge for social change. Drawing from his own experiences and case studies from across the nation, Stoecker offers an empowering and remarkably accessible discussion of how project-based research models build community and democracy by redistributing both power and responsibility. It is an informative and valuable text that makes a convincing case that research must become daily practice for all who are committed to working for effective social change. At last, a book that demystifies research for both novice and experienced community workers who want to make a difference. Randy Stoecker presents a refreshingly innovative and accessible challenge to more conventional texts. "The strengths of this well-organized book are that it provides an explicit framework and regularly point out the real-world difficulties in applying the model. The use of research methods in community practice is well described through the author′s numerous experiences."