Research Methods for Community Change:  
A Project-Based Approach
Randy Stoecker, Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA, 2011, 280 pages

Tertiary institutions have been under increasing pressure for some 

time to achieve competing goals. Universities in countries such 

as Australia, Britain and New Zealand which have undergone 

national research assessment processes – with grave consequences 

in the British case – are expected to publish ever larger quantities 

of original research in ‘high quality’ academic venues, primarily 

academic journals, and to demonstrate peer esteem. At the same 

time, they are required to demonstrate relevance and social benefit. 

Outside universities, state-based services continue to be eroded in 

difficult economic circumstances, while resources for community 

groups continue to shrink. Randy Stoecker’s Research methods for 

community change offers, among other things, a creative model 

which addresses some of these dilemmas.

As its title indicates, Stoecker’s highly readable book provides 

a manual for undertaking rigorous engaged research based on 

community projects that have quality impacts and outcomes for 

communities, students and academics. Stoecker is a Professor of 

Sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who has worked 

with numerous community organisations and groups for over 25 

years. I would also describe him as a public sociologist since, as 

is the case with public history, Stoecker’s immediate concerns are 

with authority (though he does not use this term) and audience.

For Stoecker, all participants in this model have skills and 

knowledge – even if they are not aware of them – which can feed 

into research, and can be shared, transferred or enhanced along 

the way. Authority in the research process is also shared. The 

process itself is cyclical, involving four stages – diagnose, prescribe, 

implement and evaluate – and it can begin anywhere.

In terms of audience, Stoecker does not privilege academic 

venues over others. Instead, he suggests a large number of vehicles 

through which research can be communicated and disseminated. 

Work concerning the preservation or building of community 

identities, for example, might best be presented through an 

exhibition or a community theatre production involving 

community members. This does not preclude its publication in 

refereed journals or at conferences. Indeed, a strength of the book 

Gateways: International 
Journal of Community 
Research and Engagement
Vol 5 (2012): 201–02
© UTSePress and the author

ISSN 1836-3393

Paul Ashton

University of Technology, Sydney



202 | Gateways | Review

is its advocacy for the relevance of academic research and the 

need for genuine engagement. Academics are not portrayed as 

ivory tower intellectuals. Nor are community researchers held up 

as saviours. Community members are presented as partners in 

research rather than subjects of it.

Importantly, Stoecker indicates that the engagement process 

is anything but easy. A section entitled ‘Loose gravel’ appears at 

the end of every chapter identifying the pitfalls and problems that 

lie ahead for the newly engaged researcher. Stoecker also provides 

sound advice on these based on extensive experience.

This book should be recommended reading for academics 

who want to move into the area of engagement, for students who 

need a highly accessible and easy-to-understand guide to the 

relationship between academic work and community needs and 

desires, and for community members wanting to create significant 

and successful partnerships with universities.