Assessment of the impact of varied forms of participatory research is enhanced by specific attention to the ripples, such work initiates in the social context. Ripples are defined as consequences either unintended or unanticipated by those carrying out the participatory research. Following a brief documentation of the range of reported ripples in…

Five methods for determining the needs and aspirations of the total library community (library personnel, library affiliates, and general population) in Illinois are presented in this report, and the use of three of them for a 3-phase study is outlined: (1) survey of the literature (documentary research and secondary data collection and analysis);…

Research in Indigenous Australian education is at a dead-end. Researchers are still heading out into the field to look for new knowledge to answer old questions. The same epistemology dominates how we look, and where, while the methodology provides the researcher with a forced choice, one where either the student or the teacher is blamed for the…

Describes an applied community development course at a junior college, which involves a comprehensive social analysis of the community to determine leadership patterns, organizational structures, and community needs, and which involves students in the practical application of sociological theories and research methods. Provides a course outline.…

Designed to provide basic guidelines and examples that can be used by community colleges for organizing and conducting community impact studies, this booklet describes the experiences of Kalamazoo Valley Community College (KVCC), Eastfield College (EC), and Valencia Community College (VCC) in conducting their impact studies. Introductory material…

This document comprises a collection of workshop papers addressing the issues of doing research on the complex social and human problems faced in any community from an Asian American perspective. The following topics are discussed: (1) the nature of community research; (2) the pros and cons of pure basic and applied research; (3) the nature and…

This report describes a preliminary methodology by which distressed communities may be identified using school districts as the basic unit for the presentation of data. Distress consists of a concentration of the following types of need: (1) economic; (2) social; and (3) educational. Distress was measured by an index that determined a district's…

Asserts that, although research can be a powerful resource in guiding and fueling grass-roots social change, the community-based research enterprise often is contentious. Recommends collaborative research studies in which the researchers and practitioners work together from the project's inception. (CFR)

Discusses methodological issues in cross-cultural studies of diverse communities, including language problems, data collection and analysis, sample size, and dissemination of findings. A study of the information-seeking behavior of ethnolinguistic gatekeepers in several communities in California is described. Suggestions are given for public…