Community-Based Research
University of Houston-Downtown (UHD)
Houston, TX 77002
Monday - Friday, 8am - 5pm
About Community-Based Research
The Impact Learning Office (ILO) would like to support UHD faculty for research projects done with community members. Community-based research (CBR) or Community-based participatory research (CBPR) engages community members in the research process. CBR is defined as research done with community where the community members are participating to some degree in the research process. CBPR is research with community members as equal partners.
CBR and CBPR provide benefits to academic researchers as well as to communities. The
researchers develop strong partnerships with community members that facilitate recruitment
of research participants. Bringing more voices and sources of knowledge can increase
the validity of the findings. By partnering with academic and other research experts,
community agencies can gain opportunities for capacity building in areas such as grant
writing and evaluation skills. The findings of the research can empower the community
members to request policy changes that can affect their communities. This aligns with
UHD’s "commitment to generating socially impactful knowledge through thoughtful inquiry is manifested by our marked ability to bring the expertise
of our students, faculty, and staff together with that of community partners to explore
and exchange ideas and to search for solutions to seemingly intractable problems."
Additionally, one of the goals in the strategic plan is to build diverse partnerships
to enhance student engagement.
Current Call:
Application for Community-Based Research Grant (due date: November 10, 2023)
Resources for Faculty:
Organizations
Books
- Essentials of Community-based Research by Vera Caine and Judy Mill, 2015, Taylor & Frances Group Publishers
- Handbook of Methodological Approaches to Community-based Research: Qualitative, Quantitative and Mixed Methods by Leonard A. Jason and David S. Glenwick, 2015, Oxford Academic Publishers
Journals
(many journals can be accessed online through the UHD Library)
- American Journal of Community Psychology
- Journal of Community Practice
- Journal of Participatory Research Methods
- Progress in Community Health Partnerships
- Research for All
- Collaborations: A Journal of Community-based Research and Practice
- Journal of Community Engagement and Higher Education
- Journal of Community Engagement and Scholarship
- Public: A Journal of Imagining America (focused on humanities, arts and design in public life)
- Journal of Public Scholarship in Higher Education
Articles
- Oetzel, J. G., & al, e. (2018). Impact of Participatory Health Research: A Test of the Community-Based Participatory
Research Conceptual Model. BioMed Research International, 1-12.
- Minkler, M., & Wallerstein, N. (Eds.). (2008). Community-based participatory research for health : From process to outcomes. John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated.
Funding Sources
- Internal
- National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities
- The NIMHD Community-Based Participatory Research Program (CBPR) supports collaborative
interventions that involve scientific researchers and community members to address
diseases and conditions disproportionately affecting health disparity populations
- The NIMHD Community-Based Participatory Research Program (CBPR) supports collaborative
interventions that involve scientific researchers and community members to address
diseases and conditions disproportionately affecting health disparity populations
- American Sociological Association
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Small grants for Community Action Research Initiative (CARI)
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- US Environmental Protection Agency
- Support underserved communities and address the climate crisis
- Support underserved communities and address the climate crisis
- American Studies Association
- Small grants for collaborative projects with the community that enhance the use of
American studies research.
- Small grants for collaborative projects with the community that enhance the use of
American studies research.
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The Indian Health Service funds CBPR through its Native American Research Centers for Health.
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The Administration for Children and Families funds CBPR through its Head Start-University Partnerships Program.
- The Sociological Initiatives Foundation funds CBPR.