Research, Action and Conflict of Psychological Loyalties: The Case of the Sense of Community

Abstract

This paper is aimed as an open reflection on the practical use of knowledge starting from a research on sense of community carried out in a close-knit neighborhood of the city of Barcelona. After describing the research project, the ensuing return of information and other contacts with the neighborhood, its main problems and resources are identified, and an integrative dynamic evaluation of the community is done, suggesting solutions. Conclusions are then drawn from the experience and its results, and a reflection on the critical aspects of the process of generation, dissemination, and practical use of knowledge is undertaken, contemplating the process as a conflict of psychological loyalties. Different forms of using knowledge in social action —and of using social action to generate knowledge— are then presented as the several ways of relating research and action, and an emerging model of using knowledge generated in community social work is finally described.