Chapters
5 Codesign: Strategies for Practicing Science with Communities
Learning Outcomes
This chapter focuses on providing opportunities for identifying issues that are priorities to a community and codesigning research questions with a community.
Students will be able to
- Identify community-specific needs, priorities, and interests for a particular community project
- Select strategies to work with communities to develop community-driven (community developed) research questions and projects
- Create a research plan that employs practices and principles of community science and prioritizes community-specific needs, interests, and preferences
5.2. Introduction
Effective community engagement in research requires not only identifying the issues that matter most to a population but also cocreating questions in a collaborative spirit. Having locals actively taking part in shaping the investigation rather than being passively subjected to it can symbolize progress toward a more democratic scientific practice [Minkler and Wallerstein, 2011]. Identifying what concerns a community fundamentally involves attentive listening and open dialogue with participants. These interactions help researchers comprehend lived realities, necessities, and worries through shared stories [Reed et al., 2009]. Additionally, methods like community mapping and photovoice can furnish valuable insights into what is important.
With mapping, or “participatory cartography,” residents participate in making visual portrayals of their surroundings, highlighting spaces of concern and enthusiasm. Photovoice, a participatory research method, encourages community individuals to capture and discuss images representing what they deem significant. These techniques not only pinpoint top priorities but also empower community members by allowing their voice to contribute [Wang and Burris, 1997]. Once top concerns are distinguished, the next step involves cocrafting queries that echo these worries. Coframing inquiries necessitates a cooperative process in which researchers and community members work as one to formulate questions that are meaningful and can prompt action. This process can follow principles of community-based participatory research, emphasizing joint knowledge formation and shared decision-making [Israel et al., 2013].
5.3. Identifying Community-Specific Needs, Priorities, and Interests
Successful scientific engagement with communities necessitates knowledge of communities’ unique needs, priorities, and interests. Balancing them ensures that any scientific undertakings are meaningful and contribute to the community to build collaboration together with trust. Community assessment or familiarization is the first step in understanding the context of the community. For example, by studying a community’s written and oral history and conducting surveys, interviews, focus groups, and public forums, more can be learned about community attitudes, beliefs, and practices [Green and Kreuter,