Fundamentally, research is the process of discovery and exploration – the outcomes of which range widely from increasing understanding and finding potential solutions to gathering information that may contribute to additional inquiry. Community development as a means of improving the places we live in is a pressing issue more than ever, and further discovery and exploration of it are very much needed. It is our intent to present this volume to spur ideas and innovations in community development. At its most basic, community development is simply about making things better for the people who live there (Musikanski et al., 2019). At its most complex, it is decidedly difficult to identify the most effective or desirable approach as needs, desires, conditions, external and internal influences and confounding factors and resources can vary widely between communities. Community represents agency and solidarity (Bhattacharyya, 1995), and it is critical to understand that community is not only a destination and location but can also include a common set of ideas and values (Trevan, 2016), which inform both research and practice for the co-creation of knowledge. By focusing on research approaches, techniques and applications, we aim to illustrate both the broad complexity of community development and its potential. We hope this will help foster greater understanding of how research contributes to scholarship and to practice, where we see the results of ideas in action.
Rhonda Phillips, Eric Trevan and Patsy Kraeger
Handbook Chapter
In Research Handbook on Community Development
Edited by Rhonda Phillips, Eric Trevan and Patsy Kraeger
- Published:
- 20 April 2020
Collection:
Social and Political Science 2020
Edited by Rhonda Phillips, Eric Trevan and Patsy Kraeger
This timely Research Handbook offers new ways in which to navigate the diverse terrain of community development research. Chapters unpack the foundations and history of community development research and also look to its future, exploring innovative frameworks for conceptualizing community development. Comprehensive and unequivocally progressive, this is key reading for social and public policy researchers in need of an understanding of the current trends in community development research, as well as practitioners and policymakers working on urban, rural and regional development.
Monograph Chapter
In Towards Collaborative Research in International Development
John Spriggs, Barbara Chambers and Carole Kayrooz
- Published:
- 4 November 2019
Collection:
Social and Political Science 2019
Monograph Chapter
In Towards Collaborative Research in International Development
John Spriggs, Barbara Chambers and Carole Kayrooz
- Published:
- 4 November 2019
Collection:
Social and Political Science 2019
Towards Collaborative Research in International Development
The Central Role of Social Science
John Spriggs, Barbara Chambers and Carole Kayrooz
The new millennium has witnessed profound changes to the way donor countries are approaching international development – with the emphasis now on collaborative, people-centred development. This timely book explores how research and research culture need to adapt to mesh with this new reality.
David Cutts and Edward Fieldhouse
Handbook Chapter
In Handbook of Research Methods and Applications in Social Capital
Edited by Yaojun Li
- Published:
- 28 August 2015
Collection:
Social And Political Science 2015
James Laurence
Handbook Chapter
In Handbook of Research Methods and Applications in Social Capital
Edited by Yaojun Li
- Published:
- 28 August 2015
Collection:
Social And Political Science 2015
Yaojun Li
Handbook Chapter
In Handbook of Research Methods and Applications in Social Capital
Edited by Yaojun Li
- Published:
- 28 August 2015
Collection:
Social And Political Science 2015
Yaojun Li, Anthony Heath and Fiona Devine
Handbook Chapter
In Handbook of Research Methods and Applications in Social Capital
Edited by Yaojun Li
- Published:
- 28 August 2015
Collection:
Social And Political Science 2015
Edited by Yaojun Li
Social capital is fundamentally concerned with resources in social relations. This Handbook brings together leading scholars from around the world to address important questions on the determinants, manifestations and consequences of social capital. Combining cutting-edge theory and appropriate data and methods, it presents a challenge to both social capital researchers interested in explaining social inequality and to policy-makers with responsibility for designing effective measures for enhancing social cohesion.