Conducting Community Engaged Research: Graduate School through Early Career

Session Type: Conversation Roundtable

Abstract

Community based participatory research (CBPR) is an approach that can be used to partner with research constituents to understand their lived experiences and generate equitable change within communities (Israel et al., 2005). Particularly for youth, utilizing CBPR bolster’s youths’ health and wellbeing and promotes youth voice in research (Bloomer et al., 2022). While this approach has multiple applications and benefits, literature returns minimal engagement with CBPR approaches in psychology and child development research (Collins et al., 2018). Even more so, there is a growing increase in engagement with CBPR for historically marginalized populations (e.g., Black, LGBTQ, and immigrant youth, families and communities) among emerging scholars. While this interest increases, there are many challenges scholars must navigate when working towards developing and sustaining mutually beneficial community partnerships while managing the various demands of academia (Felner, 2020).

Frameworks have been generated for how to conduct CBPR (Sánchez et al., 2021). However, limited literature documents how early career/graduate student scholars can start and sustain CBPR throughout their career. Generating discussion about how to achieve academic milestones (dissertation proposal/defense, tenure, publications, etc.), garner academic funding, and equitably engaging communities for early career scholars will support scholars ability to engage CBPR. As CBPR can serve as a transformative method to recenter research on the priorities of communities rather than the interests of the researcher, these discussions are necessary to help foster a generation of scientists dedicated to creating meaningful change.

Moderator: Janae Shaheed
Panelists: Margarett McBride, Aaron Neal, Aishia Brown, Tiyobista Maereg

Sub Unit

• Diversity, Equity & Social Justice

Moderator

• Janae Shaheed, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Panelists

• Aaron Neal, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

• Margarett McBride, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

• Tiyobista M Maereg, Pennsylvania State University, University Park

• Aishia Brown, University of Louisville