Disrupting the Status Quo through Equitable and Community-Engaged Research Practices

Session Submission Type: Workshop

Description

Sociology is central to our understanding of inequality; however, the field continues to operate with limited tools to conduct research that disrupts inequitable systems of knowledge production. The goal of this Research and Policy Workshop is to strengthen participants’ understanding of practical strategies for designing, funding, evaluating, and disseminating research that remains accountable to the very communities most affected by structural and community violence, throughout the research process and beyond.

This praxis is grounded in the Black & Brown Collective for Community Solutions to Gun Violence’s guiding research principles and equity framework, which elevates accountability to community, interdisciplinary collaboration, critical theory, liberation, and humanity as central research practices. Workshop participants will have the opportunity to examine how narrow methodological approaches, inequitable funding structures, and traditional extractive research practices continue to reproduce the same disparities the field of sociology seeks to address.

During the workshop, participants will engage in small-group discussions analyzing case studies of incidents that may arise in community-engaged research and will reflect on solutions and opportunities for growth. This workshop will help participants:

1. Integrate community-engaged and culturally responsive approaches into rigorous research designs.
2. Develop accountability systems that extend beyond IRB requirements.
3. Develop research partnerships that support long-term collaboration.
4. Translate research into public scholarship and policy that is accessible and reflective of community experiences.

This workshop is closely aligned with ASA’s theme of Disrupting the Status Quo by offering insights and practical tools that challenge traditional approaches and equip participants to apply them in their research.

Sub Unit

• Workshops / Policy and Research Workshop

Presenters

• Zimife Umeh

• Leslie Salas-Hernandez

Session Organizer

• Asia Ivey, UC Davis - Centers for Violence Prevention/Black & Brown Collective for Community Solutions to Gun Violence