Perspectives of community members on community-based participatory research: A systematic literature review

Abstract

Anchor institutions are a part of a complex urban governance regime influencing policy, investment and programming in urban neighborhoods. Anchor land-grant educational institutions are questioning their role in conducting impactful research in and with the community. We find growing evidence of interest in community-based participatory research (CBPR) by universities and funders. Utilizing a systematic literature review we analyze peer-reviewed scholarship on CBPR. While the number of CBPR publications has been on the rise since 2005 and the term CBPR among others is used most frequently across the fields, the trend in the social sciences is lagging. About half of the CBPR literature provides community perspectives, and less than a third was coauthored with community partners. We find community perspectives and voices are more limited in the social sciences. We attribute this phenomenon to funding limitations and the potential for bias in the peer-review process of relevant journals.