Information Science and Community-Based Participatory Action Research, with Dr. Joseph Winberry

Adam and Joe sit down with Dr. Joseph Winberry to talk about information sciences and community-based participatory action research (CBPAR). Dr. Winberry is an Assistant Professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Information and Library Science. Much of his teaching and research revolves around critical librarianship, information marginalization, and older adults.

Jumping into our lightning round, [00:45] Dr. Winberry walks us through the choices and experiences that led him to the crossroads of studying CBPAR and older adults.[04:33] Winberry tells us about the important work around “information marginalization” (Gibson & Martin, 2019) that guides his research and [07:22] what action research looks like more broadly in his context.

At this point, our hosts dig in deeper into his dissertation study: a CBPAR project with LGBT older adults that was [09:02] “led by the community and addressing issues that they believe are important.” First, [09:11] he shares insights on what is critical to success in an action research investigation: time, relationships and flexibility. [10:35] He then offers advice to graduate students who are considering action research as their methodology for their thesis or dissertation.

Joe asks Winberry to [12:54] tell us more about what brought him to community-based participatory action research, specifically. We get to hear about how his experience with community organizing and his role at the Office on Aging informed his passion for information sciences and action-oriented research. [20:02] Winberry shares some of the key scholars that shaped his work, and we share some of those references below. [21:33] Like many action research researcher-practitioners, Winberry also [21:30] faced some pushback about doing action research as part of a dissertation and walks us through his responses to those challenges.

Any listeners interested in CBPAR will want to listen [23:29] to Winberry describe the methods and steps of his CBPAR process. The work led to the development of [25:33] a strategic plan, a series of community consultations to validate that plan, and then the establishment of a committee to follow up on that plan—called the Aging Rainbow Coalition or ARC. [31:19] Winberry spends some time sharing how he handled the hurdles of working with the Institutional Review Boards (IRB) for ethics approval and the important role of informal data collection.

As a final discussion, our hosts prompt Winberry to talk about [33:01] positionality and reflexivity in CBPAR. For Winberry, “how I approached the study and how it ultimately looked” was absolutely shaped by his background. What are Winberry’s parting words of encouragement to future action researchers? “Don't be afraid to take risks and don't be afraid to engage the community.” And more.

Thanks Dr. Winberry for reaching out to us and sharing your work.

How have you found yourself in the world of action research? Want to be interviewed or share one of your projects? Get in touch with us.

Here are citations related to this discussion:

Bharat Mehra. Mehra, B. (2021). Social justice design and implementation: Innovative pedagogies to transform LIS education. Journal of Education for Library and Information Science, 62(4), 460-476.

Kitzie, V. L., Wagner, T. L., & Vera, A. N. (2020, March). “In the beginning, it was little whispers… now, we’re almost a roar”: Conceptualizing a model for community and self in LGBTQ+ health information practices. In International Conference on Information (pp. 15-31). Cham: Springer International Publishing.

Winberry, J. (2018). Shades of Silver. The International Journal of Information, Diversity, & Inclusion, 2(4), 52-71.

Winberry, J., & Bishop, B. W. (2021). Documenting social justice in library and information science research: A literature review. Journal of Documentation, 77(3), 743-754.

Here are other relevant websites:

• josephwinberry.org

• Aging Rainbow Coalition – Office on Aging