What do we want to learn about, and why?

The researcher and the community members should each contribute to the formulation of a research question, though the degree of contribution may vary.

For example, some community organizations may have staff trained to design and carry out research projects to meet the needs of their organization, and may simply want to bring in a researcher as a consultant for an afternoon to get additional ideas about how to carry out the project. On the other end of the spectrum, a researcher may have a specific interest in a question, and the community may help with making it feasible and culturally appropriate. As with many steps in the PAR process, there is a range of possible levels of involvement of both the community and the researcher.



At this early stage of the project, while discussing and refining the research question itself, planning for communicating the results and the potential action strategies should begin. What issues does the community want to address? What assets are already in the community that can be used to tackle the problem?

During our URCTI projects, student ethnographers were paired with community-based organizations in multiple parts of Chicago. As preparation for the second season of the project, the organizations and CCUC met to decide on a general research topic that would address the interests of all the partners. After agreeing as a group on the broad topic of "land use", each organization met individually with CCUC staff (including the student researcher) to discuss the specific focus the ethnographer would have in relation to the issue. For example, in Englewood, the uses and meanings of vacant lots became the research topic. In South Chicago, the impact of neighborhood gentrification became the subject of study.

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