The Research Journey

The Idea

The process of community research doesn’t need to be rooted in academics. Research that could benefit a community should be led by the community, ensuring the topics researched are important to you. The CRN is an opportunity to put local people in charge and provide the support needed to research the questions you want to ask. Research begins with a vague idea, a theory as simple as ‘I think Scilly could be using fewer plastic bottles.’ It’s less about having a concrete question in mind and more about discovering a spark of interest that could lead to a bigger question. A good way to approach the beginning of research is to compare it to digging about in a sandbox. The CRN team can help you develop ideas and formulate a research proposal. 

 

Research Proposal

It’s time to pitch the idea and turn it into a genuine research question, e.g. ‘How can we improve how food waste is dealt with to make Scilly more sustainable?’ The difference between an idea and a research question lies within the detail: turning a vague idea into something that can be properly explored, narrowing it down until you have a specific topic. A single paragraph explaining why this question should be researched will show a willingness to investigate it. Is there research to be done here? Why should it be researched? Nothing is set in stone yet, these initial stages are all about exploration.

 

Oversight Board Approval

This step will be done by email, a simple process to see if there’s any drastic reason why this research can’t progress, e.g. any major legal, ethical or reputational concerns coming from the research proposal.

 

Collaboration Building

Connecting local people with academic partners. The CRN will work in collaboration with the broker at Exeter University to match the right people with locals on Scilly, offering the necessary help to carry out community-led research. 

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Secure Funding

Once locals have been matched with suitable academic partners, if the project requires, it’s time to seek out funding sources and support the process with writing a bid. The CRN can help with this. Once funding is in place the research can begin. If the project does not require any significant funding then this step may not be necessary. 

 

Research

Now it’s time for the main event. Local people and academic partners will carry out the research with the CRN offering support with communications, engagement, and any technical matters. Help with communications may involve aspects of media such as writing, illustrating, making videos, social media, etc. Technical skills using software like spreadsheets, mapping (GIS), and finding resources, e.g. archives or learning materials, are also things the CRN can help with. The research process may also require help with public engagement by setting up events and surveys, or making connections by finding skilled specialists or sourcing equipment. 

 

Disseminating Results

The results of the research will be shared locally on Scilly by the CRN staff and within academic spaces by Exeter University. The process of disseminating research results is important for many reasons, primarily because if nobody knows what was learned from a piece of research, then it won’t have any impact. By sharing what you learned, others will be able to build on it in the future. This is the fundamental principle of how academic research advances through published papers. Additionally, those who took part in finding answers will want to know what those answers are. More importantly, those who didn’t take part, but are in a position where they want or need to act on things that were learned, may not be the same people who carried out the research. Getting the news out about your results will help to reach the people who can act on it.

Reflect

Reflecting on the research experience is a valuable part of the journey. The CRN can help with this final stage. This is an opportunity to evaluate the impact the research has had on Scilly’s community and whether or not it was successful. It’s worth remembering that there’s no right or wrong when it comes to research, it’s all about finding answers and exploring possibilities.