The Sociology Action Network (SAN) is committed to supporting sociologist-community partnerships by providing resources for engaging in community-engaged research (CER). This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all resources available, but rather a curated set of tools to help you engage in research projects grounded in effective, equitable, and sustainable sociologist-community partnerships. All included resources are available online.
Getting Started
Defining Community-Engaged Research
In thinking about CER, it is useful to begin by thinking about what we mean by community engagement.
Here we are embracing the broad definition of community engagement described above and applying it to research (CER). There are many types of research that fall under this broad conceptualization of CER, including action research, community-based research, community-engaged research, participatory action research, participatory community research, research-practice partnerships, collaborative social justice research, and more. Sometimes, this research happens organically, and is not even named. Regardless of the name you use to describe your work, if you are engaging in sociology-community research partnerships, or envision yourself engaging in a partnership in the future, we hope these resources can be of value to you.
Community-engaged Research: A Quick-Start Guide for Researchers, UCSF Community Engagement
This guide, which provides an overview of community-engaged research, is designed for researchers in public health but can be helpful for understanding CER, no matter what research field you are in.
Footnotes: Sociology and the Potential of Community-Engaged Scholarship
In this issue of Footnotes, several authors practicing community-engaged research discuss how it can be a method for unifying theory and practice in sociology. The articles here provide stunning examples of real and tangible good emerging from community-engaged sociology. They also provide insight on the ways community-engaged scholarship responds to a variety of pressing current issues within higher education and the discipline of sociology.
Successful Partnerships
Community Engaged Research for Impact, SAN/SPSS Webinar
This webinar features academic and community partners discussing what made their relationships successful, how they were able to maximize impact in their communities, what hurdles they faced, and how they worked to overcome them.
The principles and practices described here are intended to facilitate an enduring, collaborative and beneficial research relationship between the community and university. We believe that implementation of these principles and guidelines will allow for partnerships that reflect mutual respect and cooperation.
CER with Students
Sample Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for Research Projects Involving Students
Including students in community-engaged research? This MOU can be used as a template to develop a successful MOU before beginning a project. It also includes annotations to help you adapt the template for your own CER project involving students.
Resources for Nonprofits
Community Toolbox from the University of Kansas
This toolbox is geared toward those working in nonprofit organizations. It provides guidelines and tools for accomplishing various nonprofit activities. The Assessing Community Needs and Resources section is particularly useful for discussing various research methods that might be utilized in research studies with sociologists.
How Sociology Can Benefit Nonprofits
This is a brief primer explaining the way sociological training can contribute to nonprofit organizations. It is aimed at sociology students and professional sociologists just starting to think about CER or volunteering research services to nonprofit organizations.
Nonprofits and Sociologists: A Mutually Beneficial Relationship
This short video is designed to help nonprofit organizations understand the ways that sociologists can help them improve their capacity.
Other Resources
CTSI Community-Engaged Research Initiative e-Library: For Researchers, Duke University
A consortium of tools specifically for those doing CER in the fields of public health and medicine.
Resources for Conducting and Publishing Community-Based Research
“The URBAN Publication Committee drafted guidelines to help editors and reviewers identify high-quality community-based research for publication. This executive summary may help researchers conduct high-quality studies.” A list of journals friendly to community-based research is also included.
URBAN Research Network Resources
This provides “examples, experiences, outcomes, and reflections on particular community-based research endeavors.”
Sociological Initiatives Foundation
This page provides a list of resources for those conducting community-engaged research, with a focus on action research and community-based research. Resources include toolkits/guides, associations, institutes, blogs and more. The Sociological Initiatives Foundation also offers grants to support CER.
Examples of Sociologists Participating In Community-Engaged Research
