Altough community-engaged research takes longer than conventional research, this method can help you develop your reserach more effectively.

Karen Fortuna worked alongside people with lived experiences of psychiatric conditions to develop technologies to help improve their mental and physical health. This article by nature.com explains how the reserach method of engaging a community helped Karen through her reserach phase. 

"There are different models of community engagement that can be used to guide your research, including active ones, in which community members and scientists both have shared decision-making authority and equal ownership of the developed product."

Read more: Community engagement: a starter pack for scientists