Civically engaged political science research is an approach to inquiry that involves political scientists collaborating in a mutually beneficial way with people and groups beyond the academy to co-produce, share, and apply knowledge related to power or politics that contributes to self-governance.
| Civically | How people govern themselves. Engaged research teams are self-governing collaborative groups (composed of community organizations, government actors, social movements and others); their research strengthens self-governance for others. |
| Engaged | Collaborative, in partnership, with benefits and substantive roles for both political scientists and non-academics in the same projects. |
| Research | Any organized, rigorous production of knowledge, including empirical, interpretive, historical, conceptual, normative, and other forms of inquiry. |
| Political Science | A pluralist discipline with a central focus on questions of power, politics, and governance. |
Civically engaged political science should strive for: reciprocity, genuine respect for the people being studied, durable partnerships, mutual accountability, research ethics, deliberative values within the research partnerships, equitable sharing of resources, outcomes, and credit, transparency, accessible communication of results
Source: APSA’s Institute for Civically Engaged Research
Related paradigms include: Citizen science, Community-based participatory research, Community-engaged research, Participatory action research (PAR), and Public scholarship.
Suggested Readings:
Profession Symposium: Civically Engaged Research and Political Science | PS: Political Science & Politics, Volume 54, Issue 4, October 2021
- Rasmussen, Amy Cabrera et al. 2021. “Preface.” PS: Political Science & Politics 54(4): 707–10. doi: 10.1017/S1049096521000755.
- Dobbs, Kirstie Lynn, Douglas R. Hess, Graham Bullock, and Adriano Udani. 2021. “Introduction to the Symposium: Civically Engaged Research and Political Science.” PS: Political Science & Politics 54(4): 711–15. doi: 10.1017/S1049096521000834.
- Bullock, Graham, and Douglas R. Hess. 2021. “Defining Civically Engaged Research as Scholarship in Political Science.” PS: Political Science & Politics 54(4): 716–20. doi: 10.1017/S1049096521000676.
- Jackson, Jenn M., Brian Shoup, and H. Howell Williams. 2021. “Why Civically Engaged Research? Understanding and Unpacking Researcher Motivations.” PS: Political Science & Politics 54(4): 721–24. doi: 10.1017/S1049096521000822.
- Udani, Adriano, and Kirstie Lynn Dobbs. 2021. “The Praxis of Partnership in Civically Engaged Research.” PS: Political Science & Politics 54(4): 725–29. doi: 10.1017/S1049096521000809.
- Sydnor, Emily, Margaret M. Commins, and Veronica Reyna. 2021. “Empowering and Engaging Students Through Civically Engaged Research.” PS: Political Science & Politics 54(4): 730–33. doi: 10.1017/S1049096521000792.
- Reyna, Veronica, Randy Villegas, Michael Simrak, and Maryann Kwakwa. 2021. “Ethical Complexities of Civically Engaged Research.” PS: Political Science & Politics 54(4): 734–37. doi: 10.1017/S1049096521000846.
Politics, Groups, and Identities Special Issue
Several ICER Alumni contributed to a 2024 Special Issue of Politics, Groups, and Identities. Read their contributions to civically engaged research through the links below. We encourage you to amplify their work within your networks.
| Title | Link |
| From Public Engagement to Civically Engaged Research | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21565503.2025.2463076 |
| What Do We Mean by “Community”? Defining Community for Civically Engaged Research | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21565503.2025.2457994 |
| Who Counts in Civically Engaged Research? Rethinking Expertise and Authority in Politics | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21565503.2024.2423076#abstract |
| Vulnerability as Identity Facet: Reconceptualizing Vulnerability to Conduct Civically Engaged Research | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21565503.2024.2423074 |
| Best Practices: CER with Vulnerable Populations in Contentious Political Environments | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21565503.2024.2423073?src=exp-la |
| Experiences of Immigrant Survivors of Violence with Law Enforcement | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21565503.2025.2453174 |
| Using civically engaged research to promote young Black and Latino children’s well-being: lessons from a new interdisciplinary community-university, faculty–student collaboration | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21565503.2024.2423081 |
| Methodological Pluralism in Civically Engaged Research | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21565503.2024.2444894 |
| Civically Engaged Research in Political Science: A Methodological Guide | https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/SQH6GVGQVIMCICZUGIVV/full?target=10.1080/21565503.2024.2357078#abstract |
| Using CER to Understand the Strategic Dynamics of Social Media Outreach | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21565503.2024.2423072 |
| A Case for Accompaniment in Struggles Against the State: Designing Ethically Sensible and Responsive Research Partnerships in Political Science | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21565503.2025.2463074 |
Other Readings:
- Sociology and the Potential of Community-Engaged Scholarship (Footnotes, Volume 50, Issue 1, Winter 2022. https://www.asanet.org/footnotes-issue/sociology-and-the-potential-of-community-engaged-scholarship/)