"How To" Series
"How To" documents are designed to help inform and guide community-engaged research.
Click on the links below to view and download the documents.
HOW TO: Disseminate Your Work
UCLA CTSI and the California Policy Lab now offer a free video, the Policy Briefs 101 Workshop, and a quick-reference handout, to guide you in disseminating your work and translate your project or research findings into policy briefs. The training material is designed for community-partnered researchers and community-based organizations and anyone interested in improving the policy impact of their work!
HOW TO: Mobilize a Community Advisory Board
Provides directions on establishing and sustaining a Community Advisory Board (CAB), a structured group of community members, stakeholders, and individuals with lived experience who collaborate with researchers to guide community-engaged projects. A CAB helps ensure that research and implementation activities are aligned with community priorities, culturally relevant, and grounded in equitable partnership. This guide offers step-by-step considerations for developing a CAB—from identifying members and defining roles, to setting clear goals, compensation, and communication practices. It emphasizes inclusion, transparency, and mutual respect to strengthen trust and shared decision-making between community and academic partners, leading to more meaningful, impactful, and sustainable outcomes.
HOW TO: Design a Memorandum of Understanding
Provides directions on designing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) which is a written agreement (not a contract) between two or more parties meant to support the collaborative partnership. An MOU offers a detailed and comprehensive understanding of the collaborative partners’ roles and expectations to assure fairness and mutually satisfactory outcomes.
HOW TO: Design a Memorandum of Understanding (PDF)
HOW TO: Pretest a Survey Questionnaire
Provides directions on how to conduct pretesting of survey questionnaires for research, outlines the advantages and disadvantages of different pretesting methods, and describes the pretesting process used by the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services Care Connections Program.
HOW TO: Pretest a Survey Questionnaire (PDF)
HOW TO: Translate Research Documents for Non-English Speaking Participants
Presents basic information on how to translate research documents into languages other than English. It also highlights different translation approaches, translation methods, and important considerations.
HOW TO: Translate Research Documents for Non-English Speaking Participants (PDF)
HOW TO: Design a Partnered Consent Form
Provides a guide to develop a community partnered research consent form which reflects the views of community members, while still meeting requirements for IRB approval.
HOW TO: Design a Partnered Consent Form (PDF)
HOW TO: Include Community Partners in Data Collection
Describes the process used by the Healthy Community Neighborhood Initiative research project to incorporate staff from community partners in data collection to increase trust and success of the project.