TIP-TOPICS
Eyal Grauer
Bowling Green State University
Marcus Butts and Nancy Yanchus
University of Georgia
Welcome back to school, fellow graduate students! For you rookies, welcome to
the I-O club. For you old-timerswe hope you had a relaxing summer. Your TIP-TOPics
columnists are here, as promised, to help and to entertain you. We kick off
our column with Psychology et al., comparing and contrasting our field
with that of public policy and government. Next, we include what is becoming our
favorite section, Path to Glory. The topic this time is defending your
thesis and dissertation. (If you are interested in a more general overview of
the thesis and dissertation process, check the TIP-TOPics online
back-issues and click on October 2000.) Finally, in Scientists AND
Practitioners, we conclude with a somewhat alternative perspective on the
similarities and differences between academics and consultants.
Before delving into the column, we would like to remind you that next
years IO/OB conference, the for-students-only conference, will be taking
place at the University of South Florida, March 13, 2002, so keep your
calendars open. Be sure to look for an ad for the upcoming IO/OB in this issue
of TIP. You can check out www.ioob.org
as well.
Psychology et al.
As you recall, in Psychology et al. we expand your knowledge about how
I-O psychology touches other parts of society that are beyond the bounds of
basic science. The first topic we will cover in detail in this segment is the
field of public policy and government. What can I-O psychologists learn and
teach about this area? Can we have a voice and influence legislation?
At the 2000 SIOP Conference in New Orleans, William Horvath, II and Dianne
Brown Maranto led a roundtable discussion on How I-O Psychologists Can
Influence Congress. Parts of our article are based on this presentation, as
well as an interview with Mr. Horvath.
The legislative branch of government, also known as Congress at the federal
level, is composed of the Senate (100 members) and the House of Representatives
(435 members). Congress is very important to psychologists, since they fund
scientific research, write civil rights legislation, and are in charge of laws
surrounding Institutional Review Boards (IRBs). Therefore, Congress can decide
how much money is allocated through NSF and NIH Grants, can pass Civil Rights
legislation, and can influence experimental protocol. For example, John Hopkins
University was recently ordered to stop all clinical trials after the death of a
participant in an asthma treatment study. Thus, it is clear to see that Congress
has the power to influence I-O psychology through regulation, but do I-O
psychologists have the power to help Congress? YES!
Mr. Horvath (whorvath@apa.org) is
presently the Database Support Team Manager (PsycINFO) at the American
Psychological Association, where he previously worked as the Advocacy Network
Officer in the Public Policy Office. An important point from his presentation is
that the expertise of I-O psychologists could be very valuable to congressional
members. We can supply our representatives with useful information about
important issues and inform them about issues of which they may not have been
aware. Members of Congress would be more than happy to gain information that can
help them vote consciously. Due to their demanding schedules, however, it is up
to individuals to find congressmen. In other words, I-O psychologists have to
make themselves heard because Congress may not seek us out.
Mr. Horvath outlined the 12-step legislative process, from idea generation to
sending the bill across Capitol Hill to the Oval Office. Although we are
providing less in-depth coverage of what he discussed, we hope to show what I-O
psychologists can do to make a difference and how to go about doing this.
First, you want to be in the know to make sure the timing is right for
your idea to be presented to a congressional representative. For example, an
I-O-related issue currently in the news is the potential change to the
Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) legislation. Before a bill is
introduced, stay abreast of political news important to you and the issues
surrounding the bill. Second, make sure the right person hears your idea.
Learning the ins and outs of communication with your representative(s) and
his or her staff is of utmost importance. If you cant speak to the Senator
directly, its OKthe legislative assistants you speak with often help draft
the bill. While a bill is being considered, you can write editorials, letters to
the editor, and Op-Ed pieces. You can also make your opinions known through
speeches or discussions with other colleagues. After a bill is passed, make sure
to thank your representative(s) for their efforts. Remember, all the hard work
may pay off, but there is no guarantee that a bill will pass. Thank your
representative(s) regardless.
At a more micro level, I-O psychologists can propose legislation (or
amendments to legislation). Bills then get referred to committeeyou can call
or write your reps and tell them whether or not you think action should be
taken. While not necessary, power in numbers is helpful. Phones ringing off the
hook about an issue tend to get attention rather quickly. Frequently, however,
bills die in committee. I-O psychologists can offer their expertise if action is
taken on a bill during subcommittee review. Psychological expertise can be
anything from a written statement to testifying. The point is that we do have
these services to offer, and we can help out society through our influence on
Congress!
Path to Glory
Imagine your wedding ceremony. You are standing at the altar holding your
beloveds hand. The highly anticipated moment of exchanging vows
arrivesfamily and friends eagerly lean forward in their seats. Butterflies
flutter in your stomach as you look deeply into your beloveds eyes. Do
you, Sue Ellen Matthews, take this man, Charles Fredrick Adams, to be your
lawfully wedded husband, to empirically describe the relationship of emotional
intelligence and leadership, to interpret the regression coefficient on page 57,
and to explain why your research on this topic has any relevance at all for this
area of applied psychology?
Oh no! Could it be? One rite of passage, your wedding day, combined together
with another, your dissertation defense! Are you having a nightmare, or are you
imagining the clergyperson saying these words because you realize that you are
ready to take that final step in the graduate process and move forward to the
next stage of learning and responsibility?
In fact, the defense of a masters thesis or doctoral dissertation IS a
rite of passage. Its a transition from one stage in the graduate school
process to the next. It is a defining moment for you to share your expertise on
a topic that you have spent a great deal of time mastering and to fully embrace
future challenges that will require you to utilize your current knowledge as
well as to acquire new information.
As we all know, successfully defending your thesis or dissertation is a
pretty big deal. What is the best way to go about doing this? We asked two
students for their comments about their successful defenses, one masters
level and one doctoral level, and about why the results turned out so well.
Defending the Masters Thesis
Brian Passell, MS, San Diego State, doctoral student, University of
Georgia. On a sunny and breezy afternoon (like every day in San Diego), I
was sitting in a small room wishing I were sailing on Mission Bay (also like
everyday). Laptop computercheck, projectorcheck, floppy disk with my
PowerPoint presentation saved on itcheck, second floppy disk with back-up
copycheck, and all three members of my committeecheck, check, check. The
infamous, abhorrent, and seemingly distant thesis defense was happening right
now! Two years earlier, at the start of my terminal MS program, the word
defense sounded awful, intimidating, and absolutely nauseating. On this
day, I was not cool as a cucumber. Rather, I was mildly anxious and maybe a bit
nervous, but I was not terrifiedfor a variety of reasons.
The word defense provokes strong emotions, which is reasonable when one
considers how it is commonly used. In sports, strong defense is needed to fend
off the opponent to prevent losing the competition. And in war, an army goes on
the defensive either when they are attacked or losing the battle. What I learned
from my thesis defense experience is that the committee is not an adversary
trying to beat youthey have nothing to win by doing so. Likewise, this is not
an assault because the committee members are on your side; they want you to
succeed. You see, before this point, your proposed study was reviewed,
critiqued, and approved by these people. The committee should have caught all
major flaws in the hypothesis and design at the proposal stage, not at the
defense.
At every proposal, either during or after the presentation (of your study),
your committee members will offer advice and criticisms and ask you questions. I
wrote down precise notes during this meeting. Fortunately, with three committee
members it was easy to manage, but if there are more on yours, designate a
trustworthy colleague to record comments (my thesis advisor did this since we
agreed to share the data in the future). Also, come prepared with your own
questions and concerns about the study. Take advantage of having all your
committee members together at once, which is unlikely to happen again before the
defense. At my proposal, one question sparked a 15-minute discussion that
resulted in an idea that greatly improved my thesis. Have a follow-up meeting
with your thesis advisor to discuss the advice received at the proposal. Then
implement the necessary changes, augmentations, and alterations. Your proposal
is like a recipe for a cake. Your job is to follow the recipe using the
ingredients and techniques exactly as described, and bake the cake. The thesis
defense is simply the icing on the cake. When you are finished, its time to
grab a fork and enjoy the sweet result of your labor.
Defending the Doctoral Dissertation
Dr. C. Douglas Johnson, PhD, University of Georgia, Assistant
Professor, College of Business Administration, Winthrop University. Now that
a few months have passed since I successfully defended my dissertation, I can
reflect upon the process without tears coming to my eyes! Okay, it wasnt that
dramatic. Actually, the process was not as bad as I had anticipated, or as I had
been forewarned, but I attribute that to having a supportive committee and
taking the process very seriously. Today, I can be more objective about what I
did right, wrong, and what I would do differently if I had to do it all over
again. Two things immediately come to mind as things done right: (a) having a
committee composed of faculty with whom I had a great working relationship and
who had very diverse areas of expertise, opinions, and approaches to research,
and (b) feeding them well! For my proposal meeting, I prepared a pineapple and
strawberry trifle that was a huge success, so I decided (at the committees
request) to have a repeat performance. It workedthey loved it!
Also, it is important to understand and appreciate the norms of your program
as they relate to the defense process. If everyone prepares a 45-minute
presentation and leaves the remaining time for questions, then do the same. In
order to learn these norms, you may need to query your major professor, other
committee members, or attend your colleagues defenses. However, each defense
is different, so I did not allow myself to be overly intimidated by others
experiences, positive or negative.
Overall, the best advice that I can offer is to be as well versed on your
dissertation as you can possibly be. Remember, by the time of your defense, you
are an expert on your topic and should be able to handle any question that comes
your way. If you cant, you should openly acknowledge this rather than trying
to bluff the committee or rely on your major professor. A few other strategies I
used were: (a) communicating with the committee prior to the defense to find out
if they had any major concerns; (b) allotting about 1 minute per slide for the
presentation; (c) having backup slides available in anticipation of specific
questions on a particular section; (d) providing highlights from the proposal
meeting (e.g., study purpose and importance); and (e) focusing mainly on the
results, implications, and limitations of my dissertation, as well as suggesting
recommendations for future research.
One thing I would have done differently would have been to prepare my
presentation further in advance and practice it more. I also had a difficult
time preparing my PowerPoint presentation. The primary challenge was deciding
what to include and what to omit, given that this was the most important
presentation of my graduate career.
Overall, the entire process was a valuable learning experience. If you
approach it with this mentality, then you will reduce the stress that often
accompanies this culminating event.
Scientists AND Practitioners
I-O psychologists are continually at the crossroads of defining themselves as
scientists or practitioners. What weve learned thus far in our brief graduate
educational experience is that although it may seem as if there is a fork in the
road offering two very separate career paths to take, the reality is somewhat
different. The purpose of this section is to delve deeper into the similarities
and differences both between and within scientists and practitioners. There are
many opinions on the subject, and we will try to shine some light on these
varying perspectives.
The Stereotypes
Stereotypes pervade our field and blur reality. As industrial and
organizational psychology students, we are often asked unwittingly by others,
Oh! Do you know what Im thinking right now? and Are you
psychoanalyzing me? Be careful, howeversome of us make similar stereotypes
about scientists and practitioners. The general division has been made between
those who teach I-O psychology (and related fieldsprofessors, in short) and
those who practice I-O psychology (consultants of some sort). However, this
schism has limited the scope of our discipline. We will now elaborate on these
supposed differences.
What is a Scientist?
Scientists love running experiments and writing. Professors are the most
common form of scientist. All scientists goals are to publish in highly
respected, peer-reviewed journals; all scientists conduct research for
researchs sake, and they never make mistakes in research methodology. They
are always meticulous in their work. P-values below .05 are
very valued, as is tenure. Scientists read journal articles (even in their spare
time!), and incessantly disassociate themselves from The Dark Side
practitioners and their evil monetary pursuits.
What is a Practitioner?
A practitioner is someone who practices I-O psychology in a field setting.
Consultants are the most common form of practitioners. They are hired to fix
problems within organizations. The only thing that matters is the bottom
lineproductivity, selection of the best employees, and turnover.
Practitioners never publish in journals, nor do they read them (out of fear of
being called scientists). They always have severe time constraints and spend
over 80 hours a week traveling around the world. But thats okayall
practitioners are rich.
What is a Scientist/Practitioner?
Scientist/practitioners are rumored to be able to switch-hitthat is,
to do the work of both. They are figments of our imagination because the goals
of scientists and practitioners are at odds with one another. Scientists do
science stuff, and practitioners do practitioner stuffthere is no overlap
whatsoever. But for some strange reason, we have to learn both the scientist and
practitioner perspectives in grad schoolgo figure!
Can it be true?
Oh, come on! Youve bought (at least some of) these stereotypes about
scientists, practitioners, and how they interact through years of comparing and
contrasting the two of them! These stereotypes look a lot harsher and
narrow-minded in ink than they feel when occupying a schema in your mind.
Granted, these definitions are exaggerated, but they are built upon what many of
us have heard when talking about differences within our small-but-expanding
field. Are there some fundamental differences between academics and consultants?
The obvious answer is yes. However, the point we are trying to make is
that there is so much variability within the private sector and within the
university setting that it is unfair to reduce the elaborate field of I-O
psychology, with all of its intricacies, into two dueling camps.
Being a professor does not automatically exclude someone from participating
in consulting and organizational research (numerous I-O professors study topics
from leadership to training to goal setting). Working for a non-university
organization does not automatically exclude someone from pursuing top-quality
research. (HumRRO is just one example of a private company with scientist
jobs). Furthermore, many professors hold lucrative positions, and poorly paid
consultants arent that hard to find (especially during slowdowns in the
economy). There are practitioners who read APA journals, and there are those who
publish in them (3M, for example, encourages their internal I-O psychologists to
publish their research). And there are some people who typify the
scientist/practitioner model (e.g., Gary Latham). Scientists and practitioners
coexist, help each other out, and even speak to one another during conferences!
Again, we are not claiming that the goals and reward systems of scientists
and practitioners are completely synonymous with one another. Rather, the
differences are not necessarily as stark as our above definitions; the line is
blurred, and occupations vary along the continuum of both the S and the
P stereotypes.
Which One Are You (a.k.a. What Should I Do)?
Some people begin graduate school not sure about what they want to do with
their life while others know exactly what they want to become. Through various
interactions with scientists and practitioners, the best advice we can give is
that if there is any doubt in your mind as to what career you may seek, a
scientist or a practitioner, LEAVE THE DOORS OPEN TO BOTH! If you focus only on
practical aspects, difficulties will arise when applying for professorships (you
need some publications to become a professor). Conversely, if you focus only on
writing articles, you will likely lose a consulting position to someone with the
same training but better applied experience.
There are various ways to keep your options open. While progressing through
the thesis (and dissertation) process, ask your professors to be involved at
different levels of research (i.e., running subjects and analyzing data). Also,
many graduate programs have established institutions or alliances that permit
students to gain practical experience. Another option is taking an internship
before finishing the PhD. The internship experience can be used as a realistic
job preview to validate or dispel prior notions. Some people take internships to
make sure that I-O is what they want to do for the rest of their life. If you
decide you want to maintain aspects of both S and P simultaneously, be aware
that many (including SIOPs past-president, Nancy Tippins) have stated that
hard work and additional time (and sometimes personal time) needs to be set
aside (Foster & Riddle, 2000). It is often difficult, but not impossible, to
publish while holding a practitioners job. (We have intentionally omitted the
option of being neither a scientist nor a practitioner. If at this point in the
article, neither a career as a scientist nor a practitioner appeals to you, then
it may be time to pick a new field.)
Finally, if you decide that you want to try both the scientist and
practitioner professions, but not simultaneously, you may want to consider
becoming a professor first. Historically, there are few people who have shifted
from consultant to professor (Wally Borman from the University of South Florida
is a notable exception). One reason for the lack of this type of transition to
academia is the special emphasis placed on research. Publications from 20 years
ago are not nearly as valuable as publications over the past few years. When
looking at academic positions, the operative question is What have you done
for me lately?
When approaching the job search process, make sure that you at least question
the scientist/practitioner assumptions discussed above. In addition, internal
consultant positions tend to differ from external consulting positions. Also,
Research I institutions are much more likely to adhere to the publish
or perish proverb than small liberal arts schools. Some I-O psychologists in
industry have corporate hierarchies that require them to become managers or
executives first, while others may enter organizations at high-level positions
(e.g., VP of Human Resources).
No matter where your path leads you, make sure to know your options. One of
the greatest advantages of I-O psychology is that it provides limitless
opportunities. We just have to maintain an open mind so we dont miss the
benefits of both science and practice.
Remember to send your thoughts and comments to Marcus (mmbutts@arches.uga.edu),
Nancy (nyanchus@yahoo.com) and Eyal (Eyal@bgnet.bgsu.edu).
We want to hear from you! What topics do you find important? Do you agree or
disagree with us? Rememberwere here for you!
Reference
Foster, L. L., and Riddle, D. L. (July,
2000). Early careers: In dogged pursuit of happiness. The Industrial and
Organizational Psychologist, 381, 129138.
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