by Lutz Wessels

Introduction: What is "Research"? First of all it is not "Forschung", but rather "recherche". But why do I have to translate an English word with a French one? What is the difference between a "Forscher" and a Researcher(1)?

"Forschers" usually wear white smocks, or at least ugly bow-ties. They sit in their laboratories or offices in the university and look for new facts, in order to convert them into much-considered scientific publications.

Researchers also look for new facts. Perhaps they even wear an ugly bow-ties, but their jobs are in reality rather than at the university. They look for new facts in order to convert them as fast as possible into actions on the street.

In order to make this difference clear, in the first section I will examine "Action Research". As an advancement of this new scientific method in the driving water of the student revolt of '68, the academics capture the streets in the second section. And the fact that actually the street captures the academics and uses them for its purposes becomes clear in the third section - a practical guide on how to win a campaign.

Why does Community Organizing have more success in the USA than in Germany? Maybe because there are more "Forschers" in Germany than Researchers.

Link to full article: http://comm-org.wisc.edu/papers2003/wessels.htm