| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| A dance with spirit, the soul’s way of interacting with the other worlds, the human psyche’s opportunity to develop a relationship with the symbols of this world and the spirits of the other |
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| Archival research | Research that involves searching for and gathering information and evidence from original archives |
| Belonging |
Having a meaningful voice and the opportunity to participate in the design of political, social, and cultural structures, including the right to both contribute to and make demands upon society and political institutions |
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Cisheteropatriarchy |
A term used to describe the ways in which cisgenderism, heterosexism, and patriarchy simultaneously privilege cisgender, heterosexual men and dehumanize women, LGBTQ+ people, and gender non-conforming individuals |
| Collective liberation | The understanding that no one is free until we are all free. The struggle for healing and justice for everyone. |
| Community governance | Community participation, engagement, and decision-making in public matters; related to terms such as local governance, social governance, network governance, and participatory governance. |
| Community needs assessment | A systematic process of understanding the most pressing needs of your community |
| Cosmology | Beliefs about the origin of the universe |
| Critical map literacy |
Vigilance to the inherently political nature of the mapping process, no matter who is involved or how the mapping will be “performed” |
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Cultural strategy |
The intentional decision within social change efforts to acknowledge, validate, notice, and integrate knowledge, practices, and worldviews that have led to survival, continuity, and thriving in the context of racial capitalism and white supremacy |
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Culture bearers |
A person who is deeply rooted in the layers of their heritage, to the degree that they are confident in transmitting the eligible parts of their culture to others |
| Data | A collection of items of information |
| Evidence | Any fact, information, or data provided by a research study |
| Generalizable | Describes findings from a study that can be applied to a larger population or different circumstance |
| Geographic Information System (GIS) | A computer system for capturing, storing, checking, and displaying data related to positions on Earth’s surface |
| Healing justice | The practice of reimagining wholeness at the intersection of intergenerational trauma, current structures of oppression, and a generative and cocreated future |
| Indigenous sacred science | The long history of knowledge(s) systems of civilization development, cosmology, and ancestors’ traditions |
| Internalized oppression | Members of oppressed groups internalize the negative stereotypes, self-doubt, and powerlessness imposed by colonial, racist, and other actors and systems advancing social hierarchy and domination |
| Law | A rule of conduct or action prescribed or formally recognized as binding or enforced by a controlling authority |
| Life-affirming | Indicating that life has value and evokes energy and creativity. |
| Methods of survival | A frame for community analysis that support healing of the generational harm and injustices |
| Mixed method | Ways in which qualitative and quantitative research activities are brought together to achieve greater insight |
| Ordinance | A law set forth by a governmental authority |
| Participatory action research (PAR) | A collective process of investigation, knowledge generation, and action for social transformation |
| Pedagogy | The art, science, or profession of teaching |
| Praxis | Practical application of a theory and the evolution of theory learned through its practical application |
| Primary data | First-hand data gathered by the researchers themselves |
| Policy | A high-level overall plan embracing the general goals and acceptable procedures, especially of a governmental body |
| Policy analysis | A research-based process of understanding past, current, or future impacts of a policy on a community, public government, environment, or specific group |
| Policy placebo effect | A finding that the passing of policies can make people think something is being done about an issue, even if it hasn’t produced any real material change or the policy hasn't been implemented |
| Popular education | Facilitating learning by centering people’s lived experience and knowledge and fostering people’s development of their own language, theory, and political engagement in the world |
| Positionality | The disclosure of how an author’s racial, gender, class, or other self-identifications, experiences, and privileges influence research methods |
| Power mapping | The visualization of the relationships between different stakeholders’ power and interests related to a specific issue, decision, or campaign |
| Power over |
A term that describes collective action or solidarity and includes both the psychological and political power that comes from being united |
| Power to | The ability to act, which can begin with the awareness that it is possible to act and can grow in the process of taking action, developing skills and capacities, and realizing that one can effect change |
| Power with | A term that describes collective action or solidarity and includes both the psychological and political power that comes from being united |
| Power within |
Describes the sense of confidence, dignity, and self-esteem that comes from gaining awareness of one’s situation and realizing the possibility of doing something about it |
| Randomized | The result of assigning participants to treatment and control groups, assuming that each participant has an equal chance of being assigned to any group |
| Reach | Expanding who is engaged and activated in research and who has access to the findings |
| Regeneration | Seeking to heal, energize, and (re)connect through the research process |
| Resolution | legislation introduced in either the House of Representatives or the Senate, but unlike bills, it may be limited in effect to the Congress or one of its chambers |
| Resonance | Deep alignment between the research process and people’s inner experiences |
| Rigor | Thorough and accurate study design, data collection, and interpretation phases of research |
| Sample size |
The number of participants or observations included in a study |
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Scientific racism |
A historical pattern of ideologies that generate pseudoscientific racist beliefs |
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Secondary data |
Using existing data generated by large government institutions, health-care facilities, etc., as part of organizational record keeping, and the data is then extracted from more varied data files |
| Social desirability bias | The tendency of research subjects to choose responses they believe are more socially desirable or acceptable rather than choosing responses that are reflective of their true thoughts or feelings |
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Social movement |
A loosely organized but sustained campaign in support of a social goal, typically either the implementation or the prevention of a change in society’s structure or values |
| Stakeholders | People or organizations that have an interest in your research project or affect, or are affected by its outcomes |
| Technical experts | People, such as academics, graduate students, or professional consultants, with specialized skills to use tools or techniques for carrying out research activities |
| Technocratic | Relating to or involving scientific or technological solutions proposed or developed by experts in science or technology who generally hold decision-making power in society |
| Traditional knowledge | knowledge, know-how, skills, and practices that are developed, sustained, and passed on from generation to generation within a community, often forming part of its cultural or spiritual identity |
| Transformative research | A range of processes where people center their lived experience and visions for social transformation, lead a process that systematically builds on this knowledge through investigation and learning rooted in their own ways of knowing, and take action to influence public narratives, policies, and power dynamics toward collective liberation |
