Community research link work
A role, a method and an assessment
What a community research link worker does, where the role came from, and how this course is organised.
What this course is
A community research link worker (CRLW) is a person from an under-served community who joins a research team. They bring community knowledge and connections. They learn enough research method to recruit, collect data and contribute to analysis. They are paid for their time.
This course teaches that role. It covers the method that makes the role work, the practice of doing it, and the assessment that shows you can do it. The course is generic. Any research team can use it. A team adapts the project-specific parts, not the core.
The role is not new. The Deep End Research Alliance at Sheffield built it across five projects and trained 20 people from African Caribbean, Black African, South Asian, Chinese and Roma communities. The IBISES model describes the role and the six steps that support it. Until now, the training material has lived inside projects. This course makes a generic version that can be taught, assessed and reused.
Why the role exists
People from ethnic minority and poorer communities take part in health research less often than others. They also have worse health. Traditional engagement keeps control inside the university. The invitation arrives late, the question is already set, and the community is asked to comment rather than to decide.
The CRLW model moves control. The link worker is a member of the research team, not a visitor to it. They shape how the protocol runs in their community. They recruit in places that researchers cannot reach. They see the cultural context that makes a finding mean something. The model aims at the top of the participation ladder: partnership and delegated power, not consultation.
Who the course is for
You will get most from this course if you are
- A community member who has been asked to join a study, and wants to know what you are taking on.
- A link worker already in post, with no formal training behind you.
- A community organisation staff member who will host or support link workers.
- A researcher who will train, supervise or work alongside link workers.
You do not need a degree, a research qualification or strong written English to start. The course teaches the research content from the beginning. The assessment allows you to show competence by doing, by talking and by writing, and the written work can be short.
The route through the course
Four parts
- The role. What a link worker is, the IBISES model that supports the role, and what the work feels like from inside. Three pages.
- Practice. Research essentials, ethics, recruitment, facilitation, data, analysis, the dual role, and pay. Eight pages.
- Assessment. The three evidence types, the twelve criteria with a rubric, and a printable workbook.
- Reference. Templates, a prompt library, and the sources the course is built on.
Work in order the first time. Return to the practice pages when a live task raises a question.
What you leave with
The course prepares you for a certificate of completion with an assessed record. Three things are assessed:
- A knowledge check, taken online, with a pass mark of 80 per cent.
- Two observed practice tasks, scored against a behaviour checklist by a trainer.
- A portfolio: two short written pieces and a reflective log of at least six entries.
The certificate names the twelve criteria you met. It is issued by the organisation that runs the course. It is not a regulated qualification. The page How you are assessed explains what that means, and how the course maps to the one accredited route in the UK: the Level 2 Award in Peer Research.
An honest limit
A training course cannot make someone a link worker. The qualification for the role is standing in a community: trust, language, relationships and the ability to bring people together. The course adds research method and protects the community from a role that is taken on without support. Teams that treat the certificate as the entry requirement have misunderstood the model.
How to use the site
- Each teaching page ends with Check your understanding: multiple choice questions with answers explained, and one written task with a model answer.
- The workbook gathers every written task. Print it. It is the basis of the portfolio.
- The course assistant answers questions from these pages, and tells you which page an answer came from.
- The reference library records every source. Read it when you need to cite something, or when a claim looks too tidy.