CONFLICT, CONSENSUS AND EXCHANGE

• NCJ Number: 67728
• Journal: Social Problems Volume: 27 Issue: 3 Dated: (FEBRUARY 1980) Pages: 320-329
• Author(s): R M HESSLER; P K NEW; J T MAY
• Date Published: 1980
• Length: 10 pages
• Grant Number(s): IRO INH 27142 01
• Contract Number(s): HSM 110 60 225
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Health, Education, and Welfare; US Dept of Health, Education, and Welfare
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: THIS PAPER IS A MUCH REVISED VERSION OF PAPERS PRESENTED AT THE MIDWEST SOCIOLOGICAL SOCIETY MEETING, ST LOUIS, MISSOURI, APRIL 1970, AND AT THE SOCIETY FOR APPLIED ANTHROPOLOGY MEETING, SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, APRIL 1977

Annotation

THE COMPARATIVE MERITS OF THREE RESEARCH METHODS ON COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ARE DISCUSSED IN RELATION TO THE CONCRETE EXAMPLE OF A PROJECT TO INVESTIGATE CITIZEN PARTICIPATION IN NEIGHBORHOOD HEALTH CENTERS.

Abstract

ADDRESSED TO AN ACADEMIC AUDIENCE, THIS PAPER EXAMINES THE PROBLEMS IN USING CONFLICT AND CONSENSUS METHODS FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH, AND HOW EXCHANGE METHODOLOGY FUNCTIONS AS A TOOL FOR DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH, AVOIDING THE CONCEPTUAL AND EMPIRICAL WEAKNESSES OF THE TWO PREVIOUS METHODS. THE ROLE WHICH RESEARCHERS USING THE EXCHANGE METHOD CAN PLAY IN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND SOCIAL CHANGE IS EXPLAINED. THE RADICAL CONFLICT THEORY, WITH ITS RIGID CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK, PREVENTS RESEARCHERS FROM UNDERSTANDING THE DEVELOPMENT GOALS OF VARIOUS GROUPS IN A COMMUNITY, WHILE THE CONSENSUS THEORY EMPHASIZES THE INFORMED CONSENT AND VOLUNTARY COOPERATION OF THOSE STUDIED, PLACING RESEARCHERS IN A SITUATION SO FLEXIBLE THAT THEY ARE PRACTICALLY POWERLESS IN CONTROLLING THE EFFECTS OF THEIR RESEARCH. RESEARCH PROJECTS INVOLVE COMPLEX RELATIONSHIPS AMONG THE RESEARCHERS, THE SUBJECTS, THE SPONSORS, AND THE GROUP TARGETED FOR APPLICATION OF THE RESEARCH RESULTS. NEITHER THE CONFLICT THEORY, NOR THE CONSENSUS THEORY ADDRESSES THESE COMPLEXITIES IN A SATISFACTORY MANNER. A THIRD RESEARCH STRATEGY, HERE DEFINED AS EXCHANGE METHODOLOGY, MEETS THIS REQUIREMENT. WITH EXCHANGE METHODOLOGY, THOSE WHO ARE STUDIED HAVE POWER OVER RESEARCH DECISIONMAKING AND FROM THIS EXCHANGE PROCESS, DEVELOPMENT GOALS AND STRATEGIES FOR SOCIAL CHANGE GRADUALLY EMERGE. THE INVESTIGATION OF CITIZEN PARTICIPATION IN NEIGHBORHOOD HEALTH CENTERS THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES, WITH A COMPLEMENTARY STUDY OF COMPREHENSIVE MENTAL HEALTH CENTERS, PROVIDES A POINT OF DEPARTURE AND CONCRETE ILLUSTRATION OF THIS THEORETICAL DEBATE ON THE COMPARISON OF RESEARCH METHODOLOGIES. A BIBLIOGRAPHY IS APPENDED.