A Message From Your President
Ann Marie Ryan 
Thanks for the many complimentary e-mails I have been
receiving about SIOPs products and services. SIOP accomplishes this
high level of activity because hundreds of volunteers and a dedicated
administrative office staff work to make the conference a success, improve our
services, watch out for your interests, and make sure the day-to-day business
of the organization gets accomplished. Some of this work is not
glamorousdeciding our advertising policies, beta testing various services
offered via the Web site, processing membership applications, making sure TIP gets
published on time, preparing the conference placement center, and so forth.
However, it is also vital to organizational success, and so thanks to
all those who make these things happen.
I want to convey one last reminder about the upcoming SIOP conference.
You do not pay for any of the meeting rooms at the conference as the cost of
the meeting rooms is covered based on our guarantee that we will occupy a
certain number of sleeping rooms. Last year we incurred substantial
penalties at two of our conference hotels because we did not meet our sleeping
room obligations. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE reserve your hotel room at one
of the four SIOP hotels where weve blocked rooms for this years
conference. These are great hotels! (Ive stayed at 2 of the 4
myself). The hotels are all located on Downtown Disney property, so they
offer very nice sleeping rooms and many amenities, as youd expect from
Disney. They are all within easy walking distance of the Hilton and
Royal Plaza where we will be holding our conference program, and SIOP will
provide all-day shuttle service between the hotels for those who prefer not to
walk. The Downtown Disney entertainment and restaurant area is an easy
walk from all of the hotels, and all of the hotels offer shuttles to the
Disney theme parks. So not only will you be helping SIOP if you stay in
a conference hotel, youll also ensure yourself a pleasant stay in Orlando
during the conference! By staying in a conference hotel, you help ensure
that we can keep our conference fees low in the years ahead AND offer
affordable rates in great conference hotels to our members attending future
conferences.
In this column, Id like to focus on one of the
goals I had set for this year as SIOP president: to increase the scope of
Society activities related to enhancing the scientific base of our field.
A key element of our identity on the practice side is our scientific
grounding, and I believe that the scientific base of what we do and the ways
we contribute to it need greater attention. What leads me to that
conclusion? Its actually more of an uneasy feeling than a firm
conviction, based primarily on your comments on the last SIOP survey as well
as my observations from my base in academia.
I worry: Are we making certain that the rest of
psychology views I-O as sufficiently scientifically rigorous, seen as
contributing to knowledge rather than just to organizational profits? Has
our isolationist stance from the rest of psychology cost us? Is SIOP as
an organization doing enough to assist new professors with early career
transition issues? Funding for I-O research has long been an issue (see
February 1987 TIP column
by Lord, Jones, Dickinson, Ledvinka, and Balloun)in this age of even
greater focus on extramural funding, are we helping new professors navigate
the system? Are our members finding the research presented at our
conferences and in the top journals in our area as providing both practical
and theoretical contributions? Are our graduate programs providing the
training needed in research skills? Are our members (particularly those
in practice settings) aware of the changing environment surrounding research
ethics and how that affects their work? Will members in practice
settings need a SIOP-sponsored IRB in the future?
The Scientific Affairs Committee under the leadership
of Tim Judge is
developing a set of recommendations regarding ways that SIOP can better
promote our scientific base and also assist our members in engaging in their
pursuit of scientific activities. Weve also had some discussions at
the Executive Committee meeting last September on activities, too, that might
aid members in this regard. Below is a list of some that have been
tossed about.
- Promote better funding of I-O research through
the following:
- Foundation-funded
grants, such as the small grants program, the Fine Award, and others.
(Contact Irv Goldstein
at Irv@bsos.umd.edu if you wish to
contribute to funding research.)
- TIP columns
and conference sessions from successful grant getters advising those new
to the process.
- Improved Web site listing of grant sources
and other information related to obtaining funding for I-O research.
- Development of a subcommittee of Scientific
Affairs focused on I-O advocacy that would choose several themes of
current interest to U.S. government funding sources, develop briefing
materials regarding needed research from an I-O standpoint, engage in
advocacy training via APA, and market our potential contributions to key
organizations and funding sources so as to direct funding toward
topics/initiatives where I-O psychologists might play a key role.
- Promotion of our research base to the world at
large, but also to others in academia by
- Continuing our practice of press releases on
journal articles and conference presentations. (This is an ongoing
activity of the Visibility Committee and has resulted in placements of
research in key outlets, such as the Wall
Street Journal.)
- Developing a did you know sheet for
use in promoting I-O within academic circlesthis might include facts
and figures about the I-O field, about the rigor of our top journals,
about the productivity of I-O academics. For those facing the
tenure process, having such information can also be helpful.
- Developing a How I-O contributes to basic
science brochure/Web page that describes a few key pieces of I-O
research that have changed the direction of basic psychological
research.
- Providing continuing education to members to
enhance their research skills and opportunities via
- The SIOP conference. Our April event always contains
many sessions focused on research skills and techniques, and some of the
tutorial sessions are particularly focused on providing updates on content
and methodological areas. This years conference is no exception.
- Semiregular TIP articles
and conference sessions regarding issues related to research ethics. (This
years new how to sessions on Sunday provide information on some of
the rising concerns due to changes in federal regulations regarding research
with human participants.)
- Conference sessions to link academics and
practitioners for collaborative research efforts. (See Donald
Truxillos description of one such
trial run session in this issue of TIP.)
By the time you read this column, some of these activities
may be actively underway. However, many are contingent on a response of
the membershipSIOP wont engage in expending resources just based on my
uneasiness! Let me know (ryanan@msu.edu) if any of these issues strike a
chord with you or if any of these activities are ones that you are willing to
volunteer time toward pursuing.
Lord, R. G., Jones, A., Dickinson, T. L., Ledvinka, J.,
& Balloun, J. L. (1987) Research funding in industrial-organizational
psychology. The Industrial Organizational
Psychologist, 24(2), 6167.
January 2003 Table
of Contents | TIP Home
| SIOP Home