Hanna Thomas and Anna Hirsch. (2016). A Progressive’s Style Guide. Sum of Us.
Language has politics. Writing in a style that is inclusive and ethical is a skill, and this excellent text offers guidelines and examples of language for writing for diverse, intersectional audiences. There are sections for different topics, such as age, disability, economy, health, Immigration, and Indigeneity, among many others, and each section begins with guiding principles.
@KingBaino, 2016. “Checklist: Evaluation Outcomes,” Memorial University of Newfoundland.
Zahara, Alex, 2016. “Checklist: Evaluation of Research Outcomes,” Memorial University of Newfoundland.
Liboiron, Max, 2016. “Assignment: Evaluation of Research Outcomes,” Memorial University of Newfoundland.
If research aims to make change, then an evaluation checklist helps the researcher determine if their research has created the desired impact. It can also guide the researcher to think about how they might conduct, write, or disseminate their research in such a way that it is more likely to make change. The above assignment on Evaluation of Research Outcomes asks students to create an evaluation checklist for their action-based research. The two checklists by @KingBaino and Alex Zahara are two examples of what such an evaluation entails. The @KingBaino checklist is focused on influencing policy on development aid through a master’s thesis and white paper, and Zahara’s checklist is about conducting deeply ethical and action-oriented research on contamination in Aboriginal territories for a PhD dissertation.
Boeyink, David E. 1990. Anonymous Sources in News Stories: Justifying Exceptions and Limiting Abuses. Journal of Mass Media Ethics 5(4): 233–46.
Abstract: As discussion intensifies, and critics exploit what they see as a serious press abuse of anonymous sources, this article explores current practices and policies, as well as examines justification for and danger of anonymous source usage. Seven guidelines are listed and discussed which may help editors and reporters decide whether to use the anonymous source: editor authorization, just cause, last resort, fullest possible identification, proportionality, just intentions, and second source verification.
Tactical Technology Collective, Message in-a-box, “Designing your strategy,”
This text focuses on ways how people can build a media-based advocacy campaign. It outlines the categories that a media design takes and what one needs to do before formulating one. The importance of carefully planning and managing the design right from conception, distribution to monitoring its impact is emphasized. Some of the things recommended while developing a design strategy include doing research to know what is happening in relation to your advocacy; having clear objectives that are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound; identifying stakeholders in the community who make up your target audience and participant communities; crafting your message which should be accurate and honest; identifying the resources and getting consent from every participant in your campaign to ensure your and their security and privacy. In media campaign the timing determines how effective it is; the article recommends having a timeline. In evaluation of impact decide which indicators will be used to measure how effective the media strategy has been.
From the website: Creating your own media, distributing it and monitoring its impact can be a long process, which may become confusing and overwhelming if it is not well-managed and carefully planned. Designing a media strategy will help; this is likely to be most successful when it is done as a group, with the people involved in your overall campaign or project.
Wang, C. C., & Redwood-Jones, Y. A. (2001). Photovoice ethics: Perspectives from Flint photovoice. Health education & behavior, 28(5), 560-572.
Abstract: Photovoice is a participatory health promotion strategy in which people use cameras to document their health and work realities. As participants engage in a group process of critical reflection, they may advocate for change in their communities by using the power of their images and stories to communicate with policy makers. In public health initiatives from China to California, community people have used photovoice to carry out participatory needs assessment, conduct participatory evaluation, and reach policy makers to improve community health. This article begins to address ethical issues raised by the use of photovoice: the potential for invasion of privacy and how that may be prevented; issues in recruitment, representation, participation, and advocacy; and specific methodological techniques that should be used to minimize participants’ risks and to maximize benefits. The authors describe lessons learned from the large-scale Flint Photovoice involving youth, adults, and policy makers.
Purcell, R. (2009). Images for change: community development, community arts and photography. Community Development Journal, 44(1), 111-122.
Photography as a means of achieving community development goals is the subject of this article. It is introduced with three ways that community development is achieved with specific examples in the UK; community development as projects directed by the government, as community- generated and as a partnership between the government and the community. In the partnership approach power relations emerge and it is at this point, that the author suggests, photography comes in to give voice to otherwise hidden community-based problems. The author moves from broadly discussing the benefits of arts in community development then specifically addresses the contribution of photography to community development. Three aspects of photography in relation to development are discussed; photo-elicitation, photo-novella, and photovoice. Specific examples in the UK are given of how photovoice works in development. To conclude the author mentions the aspect of organizations or researchers using the local people, with a method such as photovoice, for their own organizational ends.
Bananuka, T., & John, V. M. (2014). Picturing community development work in Uganda: fostering dialogue through photovoice. Community Development Journal, bsu036.
This article is based on the use of photovoice as a method in development research work as done in Uganda. Photovoice is defined as a ‘non-text’ method of doing participatory research that can be used for, among other benefits, its empowering potential of those involved in research. The authors start by giving a brief introduction of the use of photovoice as a method in social sciences. They then show how photovoice as a method allows community development workers to present their work and roles at the community through their own perspective. This is particularly important because their work is often presented from external points of view. Further, the research process in this particular project from generating data through photovoice to analyzing this data is addressed. Ethical issues arising from using photovoice were also considered and the researcher’s power in the research process is acknowledged. From their findings the authors argue that photovoice can be a framework that allows for dialogue in multiple ways to occur for example between the researcher and the participants, the researcher and self and a community level dialogue.
McNiff, J. (2013). Action research: Principles and practice. Routledge.
Action Research: this book focuses on the principles and practice of action research, divided into four sections it covers ways to link theory and practice, what to do with knowledge, how to make knowledge public and how to use this knowledge for personal, social and institutional transformation. The book is made of different authors as contributors and looks into the historical development and acceptance of action research as a form of learning and as a methodology for knowledge creation and theory generation.
Committee to Protect Journalists. 2012. Journalist Security Guide.
This guide is aimed for journalists who are covering news in a dangerous and changing world. It covers precautions and things that journalists need to do to take care of themselves and be effective in their work as they cover different kinds of news. The guide includes safety precautions, suggestions and recommendation for different kinds of journalists working in different regions in the world and reporting on different news items. It begins with a section covering basic preparedness for journalists either working locally or internationally. The next section covers how to assess and respond to risk such as threats, sexual violence or captive situations. For journalists working with technology, there is a section on how to be safe online, how to defend their data, and protect their communication online. For those reporting in war zones, this guide includes security training for them, the protective gear they need and how to use satellite technology in hostile environments. For those doing investigative reporting such as in organized crime, they need to know how to approach hostile subjects, access information and know warning signs that could mean trouble from the subjects. Security is also emphasized in terms of personal and family security. Finally the guide has a section that deals with stress and how journalists can take care of themselves.
Association for Progressive Communications. 2014. Digital Security First Aid Kit for Human Rights Defenders, available at https://www.apc.org/en/irhr/digital-security-first-aid-kit
Digital security First Aid Kit: a kit devised for those using the internet to campaign for social justice in the community.
The internet being the transformative public space that it is can be used to facilitate social justice and participatory political processes by the public. This space is also political, gendered, complicated, biased, increasingly surveyed, policed, and a space most women human rights defenders and sexual rights activists face violence. This is why it is important, the authors argue, to have strategies and tools that enable people to be safe and to use digital tools and spaces creatively and confidently. The kit includes thirteen sections that people can use to get resources and information when faced with different challenges in the digital space in the course of their activism. These sections address such issues as how to handle sensitive data; hijacked emails and accounts; hacked website or blog; online abuse; sending encrypted emails; erasing digital footprints; securing mobile device communication; and access to a blocked website anonymously. The kit is an important tool in an increasingly digitalized society and it is written for computer non-experts which makes it accessible to anybody including activists, students and researchers.
Action-Based Research Methods 