Research in Urban Programs

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Research in Urban Programs

• Tamecia R. Jones
• Research Coordinator
• neXus Boston
• October 14, 2008

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Any System
Process
Input
Output
Research
Research
Research
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Research

• Community research
• (understanding the context for ministry)
• Topical research
• (understanding the issues of ministry)
• Evaluation of present program
• (measuring the success of our goals)

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Community
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Community Research

• Who lives here?
• What are the socioeconomic factors?
• What are the education factors?
• What types of crimes are committed here?
• What programmatic options are there?
• What is missing?
• What is the political and geographic history?
• What are the cultures and subcultures in this
  community?

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Topical - The 4 Qs 4 Youth

• Whats happening? (Im really interested in your
  world and in your life.)
• Where are you coming from? (Im willing to tell
  you my story and care about yours.)
• Where are you going/headed? (We all need hopes
  and dreams!)
• How can we help you help yourself to get there?
  (Life/youth work is all about goals!)

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Topical

• Drugs
• Alcohol
• Teenage Pregnancy
• Gangs
• Truancy
• Repeat Offenders
• Sex

• Dropouts
• Juvenile Justice
• Social Networking
• Music
• Activism
• Eating Disorders
• Sports

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Resources for Topics

• Newspapers
• Internet
• Academic Databases (ERIC, EBSCO, Child
  Development and Adolescent Studies, LexisNexis,
  PubMed, ScienceDirect)
• Books

• Center for Youth Studies
• Google Scholar

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Evaluative

• How do you know if your program has accomplished
  its goals?
• How will you prove this to funding sources or
  boards?
• Will you use data that you collect directly from
  youth or data that you collect from others who
  collect data?

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Data

• Demographics
• Behavioral or attitude changes
• Gained knowledge
• Changed perceptions
• Attendance/Retention

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Ideal Program
Process
Input
Output
Data
Research
Data
Research
Research