WHERE EVERY ‘ONE’ KNOWS YOUR NAME: THE TRANSFORMATIVE POWER OF QUALITATIVE APPROACHES IN COMMUNITY-BASED RESEARCH

Using an autoethnographic lens, we explore our transition from external observers, scholars, and experts in our field to integral members of the community with whom we work. More specifically, this essay focuses on the pivotal role qualitative research played in this transformation, fostering deeper engagement, mutual understanding, and collective action among all stakeholders—coresearchers and researchers alike. Researchers can immerse themselves in community settings using qualitative approaches such as ethnography, qualitative case study, and phenomenology, leading to a deeper connection and genuine partnership with community members. Qualitative methods integrated with participatory evaluation approaches engender trust and communicate respect, which is crucial as researchers move beyond mere data collection (and their titles) to become co-creators of knowledge with the community, a community where everyone knows their name. Researchers who dispositionally embrace humility and reflexivity—continuously reflecting on and adjusting one’s role in relation to the community—are much more likely to experience positional shifts with the organizations and people with whom they are working, becoming a part of the collective. Becoming an ‘Us’ is where researchers learn about the community and from it, leading to a shared identity and purpose. This transformation is critical for conducting research and program evaluation that is not only about the community but for and with it, leading to outcomes that are truly beneficial and supported by those involved. We aim to showcase how embracing the community as partners and co-researchers can lead to more impactful and sustainable changes. We provide a platform for discussing how to navigate the challenges of this transformation and how to effectively leverage the collective power of community and research expertise for social change.