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Community Based Research: Getting Started

Learn the skills you need to carry out research in your own community using the 'citizen science' approach of UCL's RELIEF Centre.

4,002 enrolled on this course

dwelling in trees in Beqa'a, Lebanon

Community Based Research: Getting Started

4,002 enrolled on this course

  • 3 weeks

  • 3 hours per week

  • Digital certificate when eligible

  • Introductory level

Find out more about how to join this course

Community based research means involving a community in all stages of a research process - this kind of research can give people the power to transform their lives.

On this course you will learn the basics of community based research by examining the citizen science methodology used by the RELIEF Centre in Lebanon. You will learn to construct your own research questions to find out community needs and how to meet them. You will develop research skills to carry out local research projects sensitively and ethically, using examples from Lebanon to support you as an aspiring researcher.

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What topics will you cover?

  • Insight into the what, why, and how of community based research
  • Identification of the skills needed to plan an effective research project, spanning research questions, qualitative and quantitative data collection, interview skills, and observation skills
  • Planning of community based research projects, including development of a research proposal, submission for peer review, data analysis approaches, and networking and public engagement.

When would you like to start?

Start straight away and join a global classroom of learners. If the course hasn’t started yet you’ll see the future date listed below.

  • Available now

Learning on this course

On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

  • Discuss the uses of community based research
  • Assess the varying perspectives of different stakeholders in community based research
  • Reflect on the sensitivities and ethics of community based research
  • Identify a research question for community based research and appropriate research methods to answer it
  • Develop research skills appropriate to community based research
  • Produce a proposal for a community based research project

Who is the course for?

This course is for community members who want to find new solutions for community problems. It’s also suitable for community researchers recruited by NGOs, teachers who want to investigate relationships between school and the community, academic researchers in Lebanon and elsewhere, students wanting to carry out community research, leaders of community research, trainers of researchers in NGOs or on academic projects, and even entrepreneurs who wish to investigate the community demand for their products or find out what the community needs.

Who will you learn with?

Chair of Learning with Digital Technology, Knowledge Lab, UCL IOE.
Developing a global community of teachers around the Learning Designer

Twitter: @thinksitthrough
https://twitter.com/thinksitthrough

Senior Researcher at UCL Institute of Education with the Future Education team at the RELIEF Centre:
https://www.relief-centre.org/home
Twitter: @eileenkennedy01
https://twitter.com/eileenkennedy01?lang=

Who developed the course?

UCL (University College London)

UCL was founded in 1826. It was the first English university established after Oxford and Cambridge, and the first to open up university education to those previously excluded from it.

American University of Beirut (AUB)

The American University of Beirut is a teaching-centered research university based on the American liberal arts model of higher education.

LAU-CLS

The Centre for Lebanese Studies (CLS) is an independent academic research institution whose purpose is to promote international understanding of the country and the issues facing it.

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Multi-Aid Programs

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Ways to learn

Choose the best way to learn for you!

Subscribe & save

$27.99

For the first two months. Automatically renews

Develop skills to further your career

  • Access to this course
  • Access to 1,000+ courses
  • Learn at your own pace
  • Discuss your learning in comments
  • Digital certificate when you're eligible

Cancel for free anytime

Buy this course

$109/one-off payment

Fulfill your current learning need

  • Access to this course
  • Learn at your own pace
  • Discuss your learning in comments
  • Printed and digital certificate when you’re eligible

Limited access

Free

Sample the course materials

  • Access expires 18 Apr 2024

Find out more about certificates, Unlimited or buying a course (Upgrades)

T&Cs apply.

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