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This issue introduces a new framework for thinking about research from the standpoint of usable knowledge. Impact Validity is the extent to which research has the potential to play a role in social and political change or is useful as a tool for advocacy or activism. A series of articles have been collected for this issue that exemplify the intersection of science, activism/ advocacy, and social change. These articles highlight the ways in which others have strategically grounded their research in the advocacy needs of the social/political issue they are trying to influence, and the various decisions throughout the research process that have had a bearing on its potential to be useful in addressing social problems. These decisions, which rarely receive systematic attention, take central stage.
List of contents
INTRODUCTION Introducing "Impact Validity" Sean G. Massey and Ricardo E. Barreras 615 SECTION I: ADVOCACY AND GOOD SCIENCE ARE NOT MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE Application of Empirical Research Findings in Public Health Advocacy: Focus on Maternal, Child, and Reproductive Health Diana Romero, Amy Kwan, and Wendy Chavkin 633 Pathways Housing First for Homeless Persons with Psychiatric Disabilities: Program Innovation, Research, and Advocacy Ronni Michelle Greenwood, Ana Stefancic, and Sam Tsemberis 645 Public Engagement, Knowledge Transfer, and Impact Validity Gareth Hagger-Johnson, Peter Hegarty, Meg Barker, and Christina Richards 664 SECTION II: IMPACT IS MORE THAN GOOD DATA Advocacy Research in Harm Reduction Drug Policies Ernest Drucker 684 New York City's Struggle over Syringe Exchange: A Case Study of the Intersection of Science, Activism, and Political Change Ricardo E. Barreras and Rafael A. Torruella 694 Researching the War on Terror in Swat Valley, Pakistan: Grapplings with the Impact on Communities and the Transnational Knowledge Industry Lubna N. Chaudhry 713 SECTION III: KNOWLEDGE USE AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT An Approach to Scholarly Impact through Strategic Engagement in Community-Based Research 734 Paul W. Speer and Brian D. Christens Memoscopio: Producing Usable and Collectively Owned Knowledge About the World March for Peace and Nonviolence Carolina Munoz Proto, Antonia Devoto Lyon, Carolina Villar Castillo, and Marco Battistella 754 How Much Punishment is Enough? Designing Participatory Research on Parole Policies for Persons Convicted of Violent Crimes Carla Marquez-Lewis, Michelle Fine, Kathy Boudin, William E. Waters, Mika'il DeVeaux, Felipe Vargas, Cheryl "Missy" Wilkins, Migdalia Martinez, Michael G. Pass, and Sharon White-Harrigan 771 SECTION IV: COMMENTARY Impact Validity: A Politics of Possibilities Damien W. Riggs 707
