Community and Participatory Evidence and Research Synthesis: Enhancing Alignment and Usability of Research Synthesis Methods
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: This paper introduces Community and Participatory Evidence and Research Synthesis (CAPERS), a prospective mixed-methods framework that intentionally engages community partners to improve the relevance, usability, and implementation readiness of research syntheses in educational psychology. CAPERS provides a structured yet flexible approach for integrating community-based participatory methods into evidence synthesis at multiple points in the research process and at varying levels of depth, depending on the research, practice, and policy goals of the synthesis. Foundational to CAPERS is the purposeful integration of participatory and synthesis methods to support intentional, transparent, community-aligned decision making. By shifting community engagement from a post hoc interpretive activity/responsibility to a prospectively planned component of the research synthesis design, CAPERS addresses longstanding limitations of researcher-driven synthesis methods, facilitates earlier attention to community perspectives and implementation factors, and enhances equity by changing how evidence is generated, interpreted, and prioritized within research synthesis. Grounded in research synthesis methods, implementation science, and educational psychology, this paper outlines the core features of the methodological framework, its advantages, and key considerations for application across synthesis types and purposes.
Source: Educational Psychology Review
Authors: Jason C. Chow, Ruben G. Martinez
Institutions: Vanderbilt University, Brown University, Rhode Island Hospital
Language: English
Subfield: Statistics, Probability and Uncertainty
Field: Decision Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Quality education
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $4,790
OpenAlex ID: W7155199041