A Message From Your President
Mike Campion
How to Publish Results of Applied Projects (or How Two Needles Can
Find Each Other in a Haystack)
Most presidential messages are about SIOP committees and related activities. This one is different. This one is about how academics and practitioners can come together to do what our profession is all about: Use science to solve practical problems, and in so doing learn something more about the science.
This is perhaps one of the greatest aspects about our profession. We get to live "on the edge" (the edge where science and practice meet). When done real well, this allows us to get two pay-offs from our work: a contribution to an organization by solving a practical problem, and a contribution to the science by publishing an article. This is the best way I can think of to show that you are truly a scientist-practitioner. You might even end up in a song someday.
So, how do you publish the results of applied projects? I have asked many people this question, and I had some ideas of my own. Here are our suggestions. The ideas are simple, but some of the best ideas are.
1. Get there in advance of data collection. This idea is so basic, it is often overlooked. We often seek existing data sets, and then try to retrofit a study. Quite often, key variables are not measured, or there is a fatal design weakness. If you can get there in advance, frequently the changes required to make the data set publishable are easy to accommodate.
2. Don t be afraid to ask for powerful research designs. People often explain weak research designs by saying, "it was an applied project." To the contrary, research that might influence hundreds of people's lives or millions of dollars should have the strongest research designs. The logic behind research design can usually be understood by intelligent managers if explained to them properly. The inconveniences of better designs (e.g., experimental groups, longitudinal measurement, etc.) are very small compared
to the complex management of people that organizations execute every day. In other words, they can make it happen if they understand its importance.
3. Be creative. There is virtually always some scientific knowledge that can be gained from a reasonably large applied project. The only problem is finding it, and that is limited only by your own creativity. Start with the assumption that there is a scientific contribution in the project somewhere, and your job is to find it. Also, don t be afraid to invent new research questions or methodologies. That may even be your contribution.
4. Communicate to both audiences. Try to propose projects and write articles that communicate both the applied and the scientific value of the effort. Practitioners are not interested in technically esoteric research, and academics frequently dismiss pure application research. Both groups lose with such parochial views. Try to communicate both ways, and your work may influence both worlds.
5. Link-up. If you are in academe, seek relationships with people in practice who have access to data sets. If you are in practice, seek
relationships with people in academe who have the time and incentive to write. Such relationships are mutually beneficial (and a great way to make new friends). As a way to get started, try calling a former graduate school friend who took the opposite career path.
6. Be broad. A critical problem in making such link-ups happen is that organizations have very narrow definitions of their research needs, and academics have very narrow research agendas. This is like two needles trying to find each other in a haystack. A broader range of interests will yield many more opportunities. Besides, this is a good way to learn something new.
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