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Researching with communities: a journey of developing sociotechnical competencies
Link, Noah M.
Link, Noah M.
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2026-04
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Link_Noah_UGRS2026.pdf
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Abstract
As engineers, researchers, and scientists, technical excellence is instilled throughout curriculum and processes to ensure functionality and reliability of a design or project. However, this emphasis on technical capabilities can obscure the lived experiences and needs of communities most impacted by this technical work. Throughout my undergraduate research journey, this overarching tension has been a dynamic I have explored within the contexts of spiritual care in Reddit communities and small-scale recyclers in Medellín, Colombia. Utilizing computational social science, community-based research, and Delphi methodologies, I have integrated trends across quantitative and qualitative data through community-engaged research. Through this community-based approach, I learned the value of broadening participation and contextualizing research as a form of community empowerment. As a result, I have come to understand the value of relational research, translating research to communities, and having a critical view of my work and its impact. Moreover, these projects have opened spaces within academia through the sensitization to spiritual care and the role of recyclers in sustainable construction. Throughout these numerous distinct contexts, and an upcoming Ph.D. in Civil Engineering utilizing community-engaged data science, these methodologies point to a reimagined view of research that centers around relations and complex social systems: a perspective that has the potential to more effectively tackle the societal challenges that we collectively face.
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