Reflections on users and user involvement in community research

2008 Conference

In this paper we will consider user involvement in our participatory research to understand the everyday, real life experiences of social networks, neighbourhoods, and communities in relation to individuals’ sense of health and wellbeing. The research we report on has been conducted in a socially, economically and culturally diverse inner-city neighbourhood in a large British city. We will consider the nature of engagement with different users and potential users of the research. The users of our research include residents who live in the area, including those who have participated in the research; members of voluntary, community and faith sector organisations; and public sector organisations such as the Primary Care Trust and local universities. We will comment on the ways in which engagement and control in the research has been possible with these different user groups. In particular we will focus on: 1) the parallels and dissonances between users’ and researchers’ interests in and expectations of the design and substantive outcomes of research; 2) the spaces and scales at which users are working (or in the case of participant-users, living) and at which the research is conducted; and 3) the position of public and professional users relative to the position of the researchers. Points for discussion will focus on the nature of user-engagement in the research process and the possible uses of community research by public, third sector and community organisations.