Community-Based Research

Define research and community-based research (CBR)

• Research as a daily human activity
• CBR and links to practitioner research, action research, and participatory action research
• Theoretical foundations of CBR

Epistemological and methodological underpinnings of qualitative and quantitative research approaches

• Define ontology, epistemology, theory, framework, methodology and methods
• Quantitative and qualitative research methods
• Role of literature

Research ethics

• Informed consent, confidentiality, and anonymity
• Familiarity with Tri-Council Ethics processes
• Complete research ethics forms at Douglas College

Ask an “answerable” research question

• Construct a meaningful and important research question
• Understand the contribution the research question makes and the gap it fills in the literature

Operationalize the research question

• Write a short literature review on a chosen topic
• Design an effective research plan
• Determine the appropriate research methodology and research methods to answer the question
• Create inclusion and exclusion criteria and an approach to sampling for research participants
• Determine “when” and “where” research will occur
• Develop interview questions and / or survey questions

Conduct student research projects                

• Data collection
• Organize and manage research data
• Analysis and interpretation, including descriptive coding and identification of major themes; establishing linkages between codes and themes; linking analysis to the literature
• Identify study limitations

Communicate research findings

• Generate recommendations for various stakeholders
• Write a research report
• Present research findings in symposium format