Social Action Research Research Articles

The Death of a Community Action Organization: A Case from the Heartland

The nonprofit service sector has become the fastest growing employment and activism sector in the past decade and has allowed many anthropologists to engage in social activism and action research. Many nonprofit success stories are published, but rarely do we share the failures. This article describes the collapse of a community-based nonprofit organization. The Lawrence Alliance is a community organization against racism and discrimination and may serve as an example of failure in sustaining community support for social activism once such an organization institutionalizes and is reasonably successful. The article first describes the history of the Lawrence Alliance, analyzes the impact of its various organizational parts, and finally discusses the lessons learned for anthropologists involved in the nonprofit sector.

Social Action Research: Influencing Providers and Recipients of Health and Mental Health Care for Lesbians

From 1994 through 1997, the Lesbian Health Care Project of Western New York (LHCP), a feminist social action research project, gathered region-specific information about lesbians' physical and mental health care. The project conducted a community survey, community focus groups, and a provider survey and developed and distributed a community resource book/directory of providers. This article describes the project and its findings and discusses social action strategies and implications for practice.

Empowerment, Identity and Participatory Research: Using social action research to challenge isolation for deaf and hard of hearing people from minority ethnic communities

This paper considers the practice of empowerment within a social action approach, and the importance of an analysis of issues of identity, for an understanding of the experience of individuals and their communities. The discussion is grounded in the experience of conducting a research project on the 'needs of deaf and hard of hearing people from minority ethnic communities', living in the London Borough of Merton. The theme of 'isolation' is taken as a focus for the discussion. It was identified by respondents to be of central importance to an understanding of their experience. The Social Model of Disability and the concept of Deaf Culture are used to explore the complex set of relationships that characterise the day-to-day reality for deaf and hard of hearing people from minority ethnic communities, and recommendations are made to assist researchers and service providers in developing a more empowering practice.

Visionary Futures

Guided cognitive imagery is described as an appropriate technology of choice for intuition-based exploring, learning, and teaching about alternative futures—especially suitable for futures involving cultural transformation. Two methodological approaches with case examples are described: (a) a virtual time travel method for visionary futures exploration and for experiencing the needs offuture generations and (b) a set of depth-intuition methods for need finding, transforming perceived needs into opportunities, choosing between policy options, and transcendental exploration. Although these “visionary futures” methods extend well beyond the conventional paradigm of the behavioral sciences, they are consistent with the cannons of science in that they are trainable and can be replicated. Moreover, they can readily be used to help integrate the methodologies of social action research, futures research, and political activism—a task which urgently needs to be done.

Groupware, social action and organizational emergence: on the process dynamics of computer mediated distributed work

The last decade has seen the development of new information technology for work computerization commonly called groupware. Groupware applications support organizational computing and communications, and enable the distribution of work without regard to time and geographic barriers. As more of these applications are implemented in work settings they are precipitating profound changes in organizational processes. Although some studies have illuminated aspects of the technology–organization interaction process, more work is still needed to understand and articulate the dynamics of it. This research takes an emergence theory approach to analyzing and articulating some of the technology–organization interaction dynamics. The paper reports on a longitudinal field study of implementation and use of a groupware application in a distributed work environment. It discusses the continuing emergence of the groupware application and the organizational process it supports. The research builds upon a stream of social action and process theory research that have examined the interaction of information technology and organizational processes. This work makes several important contributions to IS research. It extends the reach of technology–organization interaction studies. It develops a descriptive model of some of the interaction dynamics of IT applications and organizational processes, upon which future empirical studies can be based. It provides an exemplar of intensive research into organizational processes and proposes that groupware applications are themselves data for the study of organizations.

Community-Based Risk Prevention with Urban Youth

Examples of three major approaches to community-based prevention programming with urban young people based on ongoing prevention research at the Institute for Community Research (ICR) are provided and reviewed. The psychological model is based on psychological principles addressing change at the individual level. The ecological model emphasizes the importance of simultaneous interventions at multiple levels. The social action or action research model targets structural changes in policy and social context as the route to influencing broad-based changes in individual behaviors. Such models offer opportunities for school psychologists to experience the interface of theory, practice, and research in out-of-school settings. Descriptions of the models address actual or potential contributions of school psychologists. To work effectively in community-based prevention, school psychologists should have expertise in ecological approaches to intervention, anthropological research methods such as ethnography, consultation that promotes long-term involvement, and advocacy.

Social Action Research and the Commission on Community Interrelations

The Commission on Community Interrelations (CCI) was officially launched in 1945 by the American Jewish Congress (AJC) with Kurt Lewin as its chief consultant. Its intent was to bring research to bear on religious and racial discrimination. Espousing the ideals of democratic social engineering, CCI's action research projects aimed for scientific credibility and social utility. This article examines CCI's development from 1944 to 1952. By the early 1950s, changes within the AJC and in local communities and increased legal and mass protest strategies for racial justice as well as changes within social psychology as a subdiscipline challenged the viability of CCI's action research programs.

Social Action Research in Practice

Social Action Research in Practice

Social Action Research and the Commission on Community Interrelations

Social Action Research and the Commission on Community Interrelations

Introduction of the 1995 Kurt Lewin Memorial Award Recipient: Marilynn B. Brewer

It is my great pleasure to introduce Dr. Marilynn Brewer, Regents Professor of Psychology at the Ohio State University and this year's recipient of the Kurt Lewin Memorial Award. This award is given annually by the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues to an individual whose career and professional achievements reflect the values and ideals of Kurt Lewin. It was the judgment of the 1995 committee members, Peggy Clark, Jack Dovidio, and myself that Dr. Brewer is an extremely appropriate recipient of this award. But, before I tell you about Dr. Brewer, I want to briefly discuss some aspects of Kurt Lewin's life, some of his contributions to social issues and action research, and the origins of this award. Then I will tell you about Marilynn Brewer and some of the reasons why we chose her for this award.

Research as Social Action in the Aftermath of Hurricane Andrew

SUMMARY A study conducted 14 months after Hurricane Andrew examined the long term impact of this natural disaster on the homeless in the hardest hit areas of South Florida. The effects of a natural disaster on the homeless has not been studied in the past. In addition, this study is presented to illustrate a model of social action research. The foundations for the principles of this model are rooted in the best scientific and social justice traditions. The principles are introduced and described using research methodologies that were utilized in this disaster study. How the findings contributed to changes in policy, procedure, and practice are highlighted.

‘A Different Way of Knowing’: social care values, practitioner research and action research

‘A Different Way of Knowing’: social care values, practitioner research and action research

The dilemma of primary prevention in mental health services: Rationalize the status quo or bite the hand that feeds you

AbstractThat primary prevention has been ‘inappropriately marginalised’ is seen to be an inevitable outcome of reliance on government support. Policy makers and service providers can never be expected to give prevention a higher priority than direct service. Preventionists have developed two strategies for doing their work. One, based on the logical positivist ideal, seeks specific causal models for specific disorders. This sort of prevention research, while it will always remain less well funded than direct services, tends not to challenge the status quo belief in individual responsibility, or the acceptable methods of mainstream science, and thus will tend to be more acceptable than other forms of prevention research and services. An alternative, based on a social constructivist paradigm engages in social action research through collaboration with a variety of grass roots organizations and people outside the mainstream of power. This latter approach, brings to preventionists ideas from feminists, ethnic minority leaders, neighborhood organizers, and self and mutual help group leaders. It is a sensible way to use the resources available to those professionals interested in social change oriented prevention.

Advancing Educational Equity Through Social Action Research

(1988). Advancing Educational Equity Through Social Action Research. Equity & Excellence in Education: Vol. 24, No. 2, pp. 38-45.

The Behavioral Scientist: Insider and Outsider

A problem with respect to social action research is being sufficiently “outside” to be objective, and yet enough “inside” to understand the phenomena being studied. The issue of critical periods in development is used as an example of the problem, in terms of the tendency to be wedded to convenient theories, the difficulty in examining the bureaucratic‐institutional socialization process, the problem of avoiding conformity when one is an insider, and the general difficulty of incorporating research findings into social programming and policy decisions. Some suggestions are offered, including the potential role of SPSSI as an organization of “significant others” for the social researcher and the behavioral scientist.

Gathering Complete Response from Mexican‐Americans by Personal Interview

To investigate the quality of response to the personal interview a survey was undertaken among Mexican‐American migrant parents and children. These representative samples were used to determine how complete the response would be to the interview in terms of sample mortality, item nonresponse, and the detail given to open‐ended items. Differences in respondent characteristics and the type of item were considered. These data indicate the serious problems which may result from utilizing interview results in social action research projects. Significant differences exist in the completeness of response given to demographic as opposed to perceptual items. Differences also exist depending upon the characteristics of the respondent. Implications of the results for social action research projects and future research are discussed.

Social Change: Nader Style

Abstract This paper examines the connection between social work and public interest work and reports on an attempt to synthesize the two disciplines in a class for undergraduate social welfare majors. The approach to social change developed by Ralph Nader and his associates provides a new model for social workers concerned about social action and social research. After students understand the theoretical and practical linkages and possible power alliances between social work and public interest work, they can become involved directly, experiencing the model and effecting change simultaneously.

Black Social Scientist and Innovative Action Research

Black Social Scientist and Innovative Action Research

Social Theory and Social Action in the Sociology of Louis Wirth

Louis Wirth did not develop a sociological theory, but he made an important contribution to this field. As a student of Park he emphasized the need for relating firsthand experience to both empirical research and theoretical formulations. Wirth's major purpose was to investigate the degree of consensus necessary for the realization of individual freedom, and he sought to realize this purpose through a simultaneous commitment to social action and sociological research.