Impact Validity as a Framework for Advocacy-Based Research

Dr. Massey earned his doctorate in social-personality psychology at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. He is currently Associate Professor of Women, Gender & Sexuality Studies at Binghamton University, SUNY. His research interests include sexual prejudice and multidimensional attitudes, the experiences of LGBTQ parents, queer theory in social science, positive beliefs about gay men and lesbians, self and identity in the context of social stigma, and sense of safety and community among LGBTQ people. Dr. Barreras earned his Doctorate in social-personality psychology at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. He was a postdoctoral fellow at NDRI from 2004 to 2007 and received a Soros Justice Fellowship in 2008. His research is concerned with the gap between research and empirical knowledge on the one hand and policy and practice on the other. Through his research projects, he aims to develop an understanding of approaches, strategies, and models for better using scientific data, discourses, and methods in social change efforts.

• INTRODUCTIONIntroducing “Impact Validity”  Sean G. Massey and Ricardo E. Barreras  615SECTION 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 AdvocacyRonni 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  664SECTION 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  713SECTION III: KNOWLEDGE USE AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT An Approach to Scholarly Impact through Strategic Engagement inCommunity-Based Research  734Paul 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  771SECTION IV: COMMENTARY Impact Validity: A Politics of Possibilities  Damien W. Riggs  707