Action Research Principles: Community Involvement and Social Work Practice

Action Research and the Epistemology of Involvement

Action serves as an excellent platform for research, and vice versa. It is understood that distance from the situation offers no advantage to operational knowledge. Therefore, there is a claim to break with the subject-object split by proposing the participatory construction of knowledge (Action Research). While a full theorizing is not yet known, many authors point out, through community work, the value of the epistemology of involvement.

The core principles derived from this epistemology include:

1. Understanding that implication is a position with potential, not a barrier to knowledge, but an opportunity.
2. Appreciating that what we traditionally call the knowledge phase can be understood, in part, as a plunge into reality.
3. Recognizing that the type of interactions and relationships established (or simply maintained) with ourselves or others constitute directly operational knowledge for a discipline that has action as its horizon.
4. Transforming intervention into an opportunity to build knowledge, and vice versa, making the construction of knowledge a real intervention.
5. Valuing the knowledge and interpretations of others and the connections that can be established between them.

Synchronizing Action and Knowledge: Networking and Presence

Networking is one of the most important priorities of the community worker, a key element for effective social work practice. If the worker does not strive from the very beginning to gain the favor of the people regarding their cause, it is quite likely that when help is needed, they will be met with indifference, resistance, or even open opposition.

The presence and role of the community worker are novelties. They will be better accepted if the worker is capable of building good relationships and ceases to be an unknown or a stranger. Their purposes and messages will be better understood the better and warmer the relationships they can generate.

Furthermore, this effort is necessary because if the community worker does not contact all kinds of people, they may not know who has the time, inclination, resources, connections, or information necessary to successfully carry out a possible future action.

Identifying Natural Leaders in the Community

You also need to discover and meet the natural leaders of that space. Although they may not be widely known outside small social circles, you will discover that they are very influential because their opinion commands the respect and commitment of others—either for their knowledge, their know-how, their dedication, or their natural effort.

Identifying these leaders is essential because, later, the worker should:

• Work closely with them.
• Rely on their ability to communicate within their circle of influence.
• Develop their leadership in community action.

Contact with the largest number of people is also useful for generating new ideas and new ways of interpreting problems.