So far in this chapter, we’ve learned about research frameworks and research methods, the ways in which scientists study social problems. But that’s not enough. Social problems sociologists love to take action. Some specific research methods combine getting to the bottom of things and taking effective action.

Action research is a family of research methodologies that pursue action (or change) and research (or understanding) at the same time (SFSU, N.d.). We see this when the government changes a policy based on data, or a community organization tries a new evidence-based approach to providing services. One of the most visible applications of social problems research is through humanitarian or social action efforts.

Humanitarian Efforts

One effective example of social action efforts is in the work of Paul Farmer. Farmer was a public health physician, anthropologist, and founder of Partners in Health. Until his death in 2022, he focused on epidemiological crises in low and middle-income countries.

One trend that Farmer championed was the importance of good health and health care as human rights. He contributed to a broader understanding that poor health is a symptom of poverty, violence, and inequality (Partners in Health 2009). If you want to learn more, please watch the NPR video essay, “Paul Farmer: I believe in health care as a human right” [YouTube] where he describes this view. What field experiences of Farmer’s do you see allowed him to develop this view?

Farmer applied this human rights perspective to pandemics. His book, Fevers, Feuds and Diamonds: Ebola and the Ravages of History, looks at the 2014 Ebola crisis and what we can learn from it to apply to the COVID-19 epidemic. In a PBS Newshour interview, he spoke of his work during the Ebola outbreak:

Early in the Ebola outbreak, almost all of our attention was turned towards clinical services. But we kept on bumping into things we didn’t understand and sometimes even our colleagues from Sierra Leone and Liberia didn’t understand. And that just triggered an interest in a deeper understanding of the place, the culture, the history. (Public Broadcasting Service 2021)

Farmer shares his experiences both as a medical doctor and a researcher, asking the questions: “Who is most impacted by disease? How might things have been done differently? What can be done now?” His research on Ebola focused on circumstances in West Africa where lack of medical resources and decades of war played a role in the epidemic and how the epidemic itself, as we experience in the United States with COVID-19, revealed underlying problems and inequities in society (Public Broadcasting Service 2021). We’ll explore health, inequality, and interdependence more deeply in Chapter 10.

Community-Based Action Research

Community-based research takes place in community settings. It involves community members in the design and implementation of research projects. It demonstrates respect for the contributions of success made by community partners. Research projects involve collaboration between researchers and community partners, whether the community partners are formally structured community-based organizations or informal groups of individual community members. This type of research aims to benefit the community by achieving social justice through social action and change.

Participatory Action Research

Community-based research is sometimes called participatory action research (Stringer 2007). In partnership with community organizations, researchers apply their social science research skills to help assess needs and outcomes and provide data to improve living conditions. This cycle is illustrated in Figure 4.13. The research is rigorous and often published in professional reports and presented to the board of directors for the organization you are working with. As it sounds, action research suggests that we make a plan to implement changes. Often with academic research, we aim to learn more about a population and leave the next steps up to others. This is an important part of the puzzle, as we need to start with knowledge. Still, action research often aims to fix something or at least quickly translate the newly acquired findings into a solution for a social problem.

To learn more about participatory action research, check out this short 4-minute clip for an introduction with Shirah Hassan of Just Practice (Figure 4.14):

Community-based action research looks for evidence. As new insights emerge, the researchers adjust the question or the approach. This type of research engages people who have traditionally been referred to as subjects as active participants in the research process. The researcher is working with the organization during the whole process and will likely bring in different project design elements based on the organization’s needs. Social scientists can bring more formalized training, but they draw both on existing research/literature and the goals of the organization they are working with. Community-based research or participatory research can be considered an orientation for research rather than strictly a method. Often a number of different methods are used to collect data. Change is the purpose of the research.

Licenses and Attributions for Research Methods and Taking Action

Open Content, Original

“Research Methods and Taking Action” by Kimberly Puttman is licensed under CC BY 4.0.

Open Content, Shared Previously

“Research Methods and Taking Action” is adapted from “Social Science Research Methods” by Jennifer Puentes and Matthew Gougherty, Sociology in Everyday Life [manuscript in press], Open Oregon Educational Resources, which is licensed under CC BY 4.0. Modifications: Slightly summarized.

Figure 4.13. “Action Research Cycle” from “Interpretive Research” by Anol Bhattacherjee, Social Science Research: Principles, Methods and Practices (Revised edition) is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.

All Rights Reserved Content

Figure 4.14. “Participatory Action Research” with Shirah Haasan by Vera Institute of Justice is licensed under the Standard YouTube License.