Good ScienceGood Practice
Marcus Dickson
Wayne State University
Jamie Madigan
San Diego Gas & Electric
In attending the last several SIOP conferences and responding to the recent SIOP survey, weve been struck by the focus on trying to achieve balance between academic interests and practitioner interests. The implication is that those interests are usually separate, and there is a need for resources, program sessions, and other such things for each of the two groups. Consequently, rarely is there emphasis on identifying topics and producing resources that are of use and interest to both academics and practitioners.
Thats the reason we were so pleased when TIP Editor Laura Koppes approached us about editing a new column for
TIP. As Laura noted in her initial description of the column in the January 2006 issue, the purpose of the column is to highlight research findings of interest to both scientists and practitioners. She saw the structure for the column as being descriptions of 46 research studies, using approximately 300 words to describe each study. Weve taken on that challenge and will share a first set of article summaries in the July issue.
In some cases, we will highlight recently published research, in order to promote the visibility of that research. In other cases, we will highlight research that is accepted for publication but not yet in print. We may even focus on papers presented at the SIOP conference because those fly under many peoples radar. We intend to cast a broad net in order to identify a diverse range of studies that would be of interest to the widest range of SIOP members, but in general, we will seek out research that is rigorous enough to meet high scientific standards and advance a given body of knowledge, yet applicable and useful enough to be applied to the challenges most practitioners face every day.
We are particularly interested in getting recommendations from you, the readers of
TIP, about research that you have conducted recently that would be of interest to both academic researchers and active practitioners in the field. We will also contact the editors of several journals to ask for suggestions, and we will scour the journals ourselves to identify the best pieces to highlight in the column.
Of course, we are most likely to be able to find articles that have been printed in our scientific journals. However, if SIOP members have been conducting research in house or as part of consulting projects, or if you are aware of research described in practitioner-oriented publications, and that research (a) fits the criterion of being of interest to both academic researchers and practitioners and (b) can be described sufficiently without violating confidentiality concerns, then we would be very happy to hear about those projects as well.
We will close by telling you a bit about who we are, and how to reach us.
I am Marcus Dickson, and I am currently at Wayne State University in Detroit. Actually, I am currently somewhere else, as I have been on sabbatical for the 20052006 academic year and have spent the year traveling to several different universities in different countries. Most of my research focuses on the interrelationships of leadership, organizational culture, and societal culture. I worked with the GLOBE Project for about 10 years, including several years as one of three co-principal investigators on the project. Most of my consulting of late has been in the area of personnel selection. I received my PhD from the University of Maryland. I can always be reached at
marcus.dickson@wayne.edu.
I am Jamie Madigan. I have a PhD in I-O psychology from the University of Missouri -St. Louis and currently work for San Diego Gas & Electric as a research advisor. My main responsibilities right now include managing most of the employment testing programs and research for the company, including things like job analyses, test validation studies, developing testing programs, and working with vendors/consultants. I also own and run a
Web site called Selection Matters at http://www.selectionmatters.com/, which is a Web log covering personnel selection, assessment, and preemployment testing in the news. The best way to reach me is at
jamie@selectionmatters.com.
Dont hesitate to contact either one of us about your ideas, suggestions, and input for this column.
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