Community-Based Research: Key Considerations for Researchers and Community Partners When Collaborating

Authors

• Bothwell Piason, Arizona State University, Downtown Phoenix, Arizona, USAFollow
• Kathleen A. Fox, Arizona State University, Downtown Phoenix, Arizona, USAFollow

Abstract

Community-based research (CBR) is a research orientation that emphasizes equitable engagement in the process of knowledge production, though researchers and community partners may navigate collaborative partnerships with differing expectations, priorities, and understandings of success. Extant research has demonstrated that successful CBR partnerships can benefit both researchers and community partners, yet little is known about how both groups simultaneously conceptualize successful collaboration across diverse partnership contexts. In this study, we ask: What considerations do researchers and community partners identify as important when engaging in community-based research partnerships? Drawing on semi-structured interviews with 10 university researchers and 10 community partners engaged in CBR partnerships across multiple social science fields, we employed reflexive thematic analysis to examine shared and group-specific considerations related to collaborative research partnerships. Our findings reveal shared concerns about understanding community contexts, ensuring community benefit, and anticipating operational challenges. Researchers additionally emphasized institutional constraints, sustainability, and limitations of standardized ethics training, whereas community partners highlighted communication, empowerment, and relational accountability. These findings suggest that successful CBR partnerships require navigating relational, ethical, institutional, and operational tensions across academic and community settings. We further present key questions that research and community partners can consider when establishing successful collaborations.

Keywords

community-based research, collaboration, social science research, research ethics

Author Bio(s)

Bothwell Piason is a doctoral candidate in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Arizona State University. His research focuses on criminal legal system-involved populations, health issues, victimization, and community-engaged research. Please direct correspondence to [email protected]

Kathleen A. Fox, Ph.D., is a Professor at Arizona State University in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice. She is also the Founder and Director of the Research on Violent Victimization Lab. She earned her Ph.D. in Criminology, Law & Society from the University of Florida. Her research centers on violent victimization among underserved populations. Please direct correspondence to [email protected]

Acknowledgements

We acknowledge Arizona State University’s (ASU) Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions and Dean Cynthia Lietz for funding this research. We acknowledge Dr. Leonard Mukosi, a Postdoctoral Scholar in the ASU Research on Violent Victimization lab during the time of data collection, for insightful feedback on data collection and analysis.

Publication Date

8-31-2026

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

Recommended APA Citation

Piason, B., & Fox, K. A. (2026). Community-based research: Key considerations for researchers and community partners when collaborating. The Qualitative Report, 31(8), 6494-6518.

ORCID ID

Bothwell Piason: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-5416-4040; Kate Fox:https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6163-0645