Abstract
This special issue on community-based interdisciplinary research grew out of the work of the SCRA Interdisciplinary Task Force and an Interdisciplinary Working Conference held at Vanderbilt University in May, 2004. In this introduction to the special issue, the historical context for interdisciplinary underpinnings for community psychology theory, research, action and training is first depicted. This is followed by a brief description of the mission and work of the recent SCRA Interdisciplinary Task Force and the Interdisciplinary Working Conference. The introduction concludes with a brief summary of the papers in the two main sections of the special issue, Prospects and Perspectives (four scholarly papers and three commentaries) and Community-Based Interdisciplinary Action-Research (four interdisciplinary action-research projects).
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Notes
The conference title reflects its primary original agenda, but in titling the Swampscott conference report the authors used the bolder, newer, broader term “Community Psychology.”
The Center for Community Studies is a member of both the SCRA Community Action-Research Centers and an international network of research teams studying the organization and use of power in community contexts. The Center has established collaborative Work Groups in the areas of Healthy Communities, Schools and Community, Organizational Change, Urban Neighborhoods, International Communities, and Religion, Spirituality, and Community (see http://peabody.vanderbilt.edu/ccs/).
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The authors are members of the Society for Community Research and Action Interdisciplinary Task Force.
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Maton, K.I., Perkins, D.D., Altman, D.G. et al. Community-Based Interdisciplinary Research: Introduction to the Special Issue. Am J Community Psychol 38, 1–7 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-006-9063-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-006-9063-2