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Vol. 11 No. 2

Community-University Research Partnerships: Devising a Model for Ethical Engagement

  • Linda Silka
  • Paulette Renault-Caragianes
Submitted
July 29, 2010
Published
2010-07-29

Abstract

Profound changes taking place in communities and in universities are bringing researchers and community members new opportunities for joint research endeavors and new problems that must be resolved. In such partnerships, questions about shared decision making—about the ethics of collaboration—
arise at every stage: Who decides which problems are worthy of study? Who decides how the research will be conducted? Who owns the data once they are collected? This article summarizes a research cycle model that integrates these disparate issues within a larger framework that ties them to steps in the research process. Rather than prescribing a predetermined set of answers, this model encourages researchers and community members to cooperatively construct solutions appropriate to specific contexts and situations. It can be used to build sustainable research partnerships that generate multiple investigations and a variety of applications benefiting both campus and community.