Research Methods for Community Change : A Project-based Approach

Everyone is a member of a community, and every community is continually changing. To successfully manage that change, community members need information. Research Methods for Community Change: A Project-Based Approach is an in-depth review of all of the research methods that communities use to solve problems, develop their resources, and protect their identities. With an engaging, friendly style and numerous real world examples, author Randy Stoecker shows readers how to use a project-based research model in the community. The four features of the model are * Diagnosing a community condition * Prescribing an intervention for the condition * Implementing the prescription * Evaluating its impact At every stage of this model there are research tasks, from needs and assets assessments at the diagnosis stage to process and outcome studies at the evaluation stage. Readers will also learn the importance of involving community members at every stage of the project and in every aspect of the research, making the research part of the community-building process. Research Methods for Community Change is perfectly suited as a text for undergraduate and graduate research methods courses across the social sciences, including sociology, social work, and public health. Community service workers, professional researchers, and consultants will also find this an invaluable guide to effecting change in their communities. "At last! A concise, insightful and highly useful book on research methods for community action and social change. Drawing from his own rich experiences as well as from broader literature and examples, Stoecker demonstrates that valuable research is not the monopoly of professional researchers, but can be used by people anywhere as a tool for organizing and developing their communities.  Highly readable, grounded in analysis, and full of practical approaches, this book will be an important resource for activists, students, scholars, policy makers and community developme