This study utilized the ontological and epistemological foundations of critical realism posed by Margaret Archer (2000) to deepen social work's understanding of collaboration. Through the use of Danermark et al.'s (2002) stages of explanatory research based on critical realism, the author found that agential and structural interactions of the Colorado Community Organizing Collaborative emerged. These findings illustrate that critical realism can be used in social work research to broaden the discipline's perception of human and environment. Archer's (2000) grounding of agency in three orders of reality, that practice is pivotal and morphogenesis is transformative aids in rediscovering how structure constrains or enables collaborative emergence.
","abstract_html":"<p>This study utilized the ontological and epistemological foundations of critical realism posed by Margaret Archer (2000) to deepen social work's understanding of collaboration. Through the use of Danermark et al.'s (2002) stages of explanatory research based on critical realism, the author found that agential and structural interactions of the Colorado Community Organizing Collaborative emerged. These findings illustrate that critical realism can be used in social work research to broaden the discipline's perception of human and environment. Archer's (2000) grounding of agency in three orders of reality, that practice is pivotal and morphogenesis is transformative aids in rediscovering how structure constrains or enables collaborative emergence.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Margesson, Shawna M."],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Ph.D.","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Walter LaMendola, Ph.D.","Jean East, Ph.D.","Darrin Hicks"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2011,"date_issued":"2011-08-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2011-08-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:02:11Z","subjects":["Agency and structure","Collaboration","Critical realism","Danermark","Margaret Archer","Social work research","Social and Behavioral Sciences","Social Work"],"languages":["en"],"rights":["Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
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"],"dc:subject":["Agency and structure","Collaboration","Critical realism","Danermark","Margaret Archer","Social work research","Social and Behavioral Sciences","Social Work"],"dc:title":["The Colorado Community Organizing Collaborative: A Critical Realist Case Study"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Ph.D."]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:02:11Z"}