Definition 1: Reciprocity

Definition

Reciprocity in research is a principle that ensures mutual benefit between researchers and the community. Reciprocity means respecting participants’ experiences, insights, and time by treating them as equal partners in creating knowledge and achieving shared goals rather than as passive subjects. In practice, reciprocity involves compensating participants fairly, as an acknowledgment of their time, effort, and expertise.

In Context

In community engaged research (CER), reciprocity entails a fair balance of benefits and responsibilities between researchers and the community. This approach ensures that research benefits are not solely for the researchers but also meet the community's needs, providing tangible value in return.

CER emphasizes research as a bidirectional process, where participants are regarded as active partners and invaluable contributors to knowledge creation. Reciprocity may look different depending on community contexts, but it often includes equitable compensation—whether through monetary means, gift cards, or non-monetary support like providing food, assisting with community events, or volunteering. Sharing research findings in accessible language, with possible translations, further fosters reciprocity by keeping the community engaged throughout the process.

Examples

• In the hua foundation’s The Asian Community Convener Project, the authors demonstrate reciprocity in their written report by naming all the research participants along with their respective organizations in the Appendix, titled “Credits and Acknowledgements” (p. 51).

Reflection Questions

• Reflect on past experiences you have had with research (whether in the position of doing the research, or being a participant in research filling out a Qualtrics survey or volunteering for a UBC study). In what ways did the research practice (or fail to practice) reciprocity? How did this make you feel, and how might you do things differently now?

• In the context of your own project, name and elaborate 3 ways that you can put reciprocity into practice during your CER project.