What Happens When We Fail? Building Resilient Community-Based Research

Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Oct 2020

What Happens When We Fail? Building Resilient Community-Based Research

Allen Brizee Loyola University Maryland

Abstract

This article reports on the second stage of a 7-year community-based research project involving service-learning students in technical and professional communication courses and nonprofit organizations in Baltimore City. The article explains how students and community members overcame failure to collaborate on literacy and employment workshops. To assess collaboration, researchers integrated usability testing on workshop resources with 15 ( N = 15) participants, postworkshop questionnaires with 34 ( N = 34) participants, and interviews with 2 ( N = 2) community partners. Participants responded positively, and 47% of workshop attendees found jobs. The article argues that community-based research should use participatory and iterative models and resilience theory.

Journal: Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Published: 2020-10-01
DOI: 10.1177/0047281619876292
Open Access: Closed
Topics: service learning multimodality technical communication professional writing

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (1)

Tham et al. (2023)

Examining Multimodal Community-Engaged Projects for Technical and Professional …

Journal of Technical Writing and Communication

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