Why is research dissemination important for scholar-practitioners?
Research and practice are the focus for December on SAGE MethodSpace, with featured posts from our Mentors in Residence, the co-editors of Research Design and Methods: An Applied Guide for the Scholar-Practitioner. Find the unfolding series of posts through this link.
Why is research dissemination important for scholar-practitioners and what are the ways theycan disseminate their particular kinds of research?
Sometimes a question is best answered with a question. Inthis case: what is the point of conducting research if no one knows about yourfindings? The answer is, there really is no point to research unless others canbenefit from what is learned. Therefore, it is critical that you take the timeto let others know about your findings.
Of course, in an ideal world, findings match your hopes andthe design execution was excellent so you have great confidence in yourresults. But the “ideal” is a rare thing, especially in research. You mighthave to share surprising and even counterintuitive findings. If so, share away;this is how any field advances. What if you find imperfections in your design?Describe these issues in an open manner and share your lessons learned. Thisis, in part, how science works, and there is a reason for why strong reportsdescribe study limitations. In terms of the ways to disseminate particularkinds of research, there is a golden rule to consider: know your audience. Youraudience will be people who (a) need to know what you found, (b) are interestedin your work, and hopefully (c) a combination of the two. Think about this whenyou consider choosing the peer-reviewed journal outlets to which you will sendyour work, book chapters, conference presentations, blogs, and activities suchas the one we are engaging in to tell the world about this book. Overall,you’ve performed some research; this now means you have some expertise. It’snot enough to just have expertise however; you’re in the social sciences soplease share what you know!
Along this line, consider part of the book title: “Anapplied guide for the scholar-practitioner.” I’ve always identified as ascholar-practitioner. I greatly value those who are doing research that are afew steps removed from the applied world, and I have worked on some ideas thatbelong in the back end of a shop, but I want to do research that helps usaddress problems in the here and now. Should we adopt “X” new way of teachingmathematics to elementary school children? Does this counseling program work?Why is staff turnover rate so high in “X” sector? What barriers to chronicallyunemployed people experience and how might these barriers be addressed? How doprospective college students navigate financial aid? The practitioner side ofme sees research as the means to do something quite practical, which is toanswer questions in ways that show what to do. Depending on the situation, wemight need mixed methods, a randomized controlled trial, action research, andso on to get us the information needed to be strong practitioners. Bringingthis back to the opening question: “why is research dissemination important”should now be self-evident. If readers of these paragraphs want some more headyideas and inspiration, look up phrases like: “there is nothing as practical asa good theory” and “Pasteur's quadrant.” These are not discussed further here,by design; readers are encouraged to look into these phrases via their favoritesearch engine!
A parting thought is a lot of my own work is in the researchsynthesis arena (look up terms like “meta-analysis” and “systematic reviews”).This means I find studies to see if practitioner ideas are supported by lots ofwell executed studies, or if the evidence is thin. These syntheses have dealtwith some important questions, like how can we best support students withbehavior problems in schools? The team I worked with wanted to know how to adviseteachers after looking at several hundreds of studies. I have also engaged insyntheses in which the focus was on identifying methods that are hard to apply.This kind of work means I have read many studies that yield clear evidence and studiesthat do not. Over time I have found that all of these studies are helpful, atthe very least they yield lessons to be learned for the next research project. Hence,everything should be reported. Keeping work in some file drawer helps no one,least of all the kind people who rendered data. So in conclusion, read ourbook, start using research on important questions, and tell your field what youhave learned! Do so by presenting your research findings in peer-reviewedjournals, share at conferences, discuss in blogs, write public reports for thegovernment, and use your hard earned expertise to make the world a betterplace.