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The resident researcher: An alternative career model centered on community
Author(s) -
Wicker Allan W.,
Sommer Robert
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
american journal of community psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.113
H-Index - 112
eISSN - 1573-2770
pISSN - 0091-0562
DOI - 10.1007/bf00942153
Subject(s) - health psychology , interpretation (philosophy) , community psychology , public relations , unintended consequences , engineering ethics , field (mathematics) , psychology , sociology , management science , social psychology , public health , political science , computer science , medicine , nursing , engineering , law , mathematics , pure mathematics , programming language
Considers the potential benefits and costs of an alternative career model for community researchers, one in which professionals specialize in the community where they live. By virtue of their local familiarity, resident researchers can make more informed judgments about research problems and methods. They can employ longitudinal designs to assess change and be available to assist in interpretation and implementation of research. Potential costs include the possibility of provincialism, unintended researcher effects, ethical dilemmas, the need to cultivate community relations, and role conflicts. Interdisciplinary training programs and research field stations can contribute to the development of the resident researcher role. Researchers in the community can help generate grass roots support for social science research.