Building Trust and Collaboration with Rural Minorities: Experiences with Minority Farmers in the Mississippi Delta

Authors

Ari MwachofiFollow

Keywords

Farmers; Logical positivism; Minorities; Mississippi – Delta Region; Paradigm of praxis; Trust

Disciplines

Community-Based Research | Community Psychology | Public Health

Abstract

The paper focuses on the question “What research approach is effective in building trust with minority farmers?” The question is answered through a documentation of researchers’ experiences building trust and collaboration with minority farmers in the lower Mississippi Delta. The researchers applied two research paradigms -logical positivism and paradigm of praxis. The logical positivism research approach was met with mistrust and open animosity and had to be abandoned for one based on the paradigm of praxis. Through this approach, and cognizant of the historical-social-political context, the researchers included insiders from the focus population as collaborators and researchers and succeeded in gaining the farmers' trust.

Recommended Citation

Mwachofi, Ari (2012) "Building Trust and Collaboration with Rural Minorities: Experiences with Minority Farmers in the Mississippi Delta," Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice: Vol. 5: Iss. 2, Article 6.
Available at: https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/jhdrp/vol5/iss2/6