Translating Research for Practitioners

Most researchers operate under some variety of mandate to disseminate findings. But formatting research results so that practitioners will find them readable (or listenable) is far from an automatic result. Something more is needed. We have looked into various kinds of "translation service," as well as other ways of making the search for new ideas and broader perspectives more time-efficient for practitioners. Our conclusions from several years' experiments have now been published in The Conflict Resolution Practitioner. This monograph was published in spring, 2001 by the Office of Dispute Resolution, Supreme Court of Georgia, in conjunction with the Consortium on Negotiation and Conflict Resolution, a joint center of Georgia State University and Georgia Institute of Technology. It features a theme-setting article by Christopher Honeyman, Bobbi McAdoo and Nancy Welsh as well as an article by Jeffrey M. Senger and Christopher Honeyman describing what it takes to introduce important theories to skeptical practitioner audiences -- in this case, assistant U.S. Attorneys. (Cover illustration)

Earlier in two "moveable feast" meetings, Theory to Practice essayed the question of what individual pieces of theory and research were particularly important to about 40 of the most experienced scholars and practitioners around. A draft paper resulting from the first such discussion is reprinted here as "a snack for thought."

FAQs
A particularly efficient invention fostered by the Internet community has been the FAQ, or "frequently asked questions" list. This can save the neophyte hours of labor -- while simultaneously saving the experienced the frustration and wasted time inherent in answering the same question over and over again. We are pleased to include here Juliana Birkhoff's research FAQs in conflict resolution. Birkhoff has held a succession of positions which put her on the receiving end of a disproportionate number of such inquiries. Her responses were codified in a single document at the Theory to Practice project's suggestion. They were first published by ADRonline Monthly, and are republished here by permission.

Scholars' own translations
One response to the need for a "translation service" is to expect scholar/researchers to write their own "accessible" versions of study results. Unfortunately, this doesn't play to the strengths of many of the best researchers; also, it is rarely seen as a priority. But it can be done. An example is a series of articles for specialized practitioner journals, as well as op-ed pieces for area newspapers ranging from the New York Times to local papers in New Jersey, written by Linda Stamato. Though co-director of the Hewlett Theory Center at Rutgers University, Stamato has made a point of writing articles which explain concepts of dispute resolution in literate fashion, without jargon or (in the newspaper versions) references: The research knowledge is "embedded" in the text. Reprinted here are one Stamato article on the uses of dispute resolution in planning in New Jersey, and another on the consequences of the failure of all concerned to respond to a request for mediation in Harlem.

Experiments
Theory to Practice is now experimenting with student translation of difficult theory and research works. An experimental competition was run during 1999-2000 at Georgetown Law Center, by collaboration with Professor Carrie Menkel-Meadow and ADR Report Editor Carol Eoannou.

Another approach is for a practitioner herself or himself to essay translation of a piece of research that she or he finds valuable or thought-provoking. The example given here is by John Settle, a Washington, DC-based mediator. It is accompanied by comments from Roy Lewicki, one of the authors of the research Settle translated -- a way for you to judge whether, in this instance, the "translator" got it right. But this is also a useful sidelight on another phenomenon: A successful research translation (or, unfortunately, a gross distortion) can achieve much wider currency than the original report. Yet because it usually isn't central to the practitioner-author's work, even the best of translations can outlive its validity, as the researcher -- usually a repeat player on the topic -- performs a new and more refined study, or simply thinks again.

A more general approach is to engage the press on a more sophisticated level. One of the original objectives of Theory to Practice was fulfilled by the recent creation of the joint center on conflict resolution and journalism at the University of Missouri, and we congratulate Richard Reuben on being the first faculty member hired for this important new area. In addition to other law teaching and research, Professor Reuben will be working with the MU School of Journalism to explore the relationship between law, journalism and conflict resolution through development of interdisciplinary understanding, research, and public education. 

Finally, the possibilities of organizing local and regional meetings to bring researchers and practitioners into less formalized and more frequent contact should not be overlooked. A meeting held in 1998 in Washington, DC is an encouraging example, and recent Theory to Practice experiments at the 1999 annual conference of SPIDR, at the 1999 annual meeting of the Wisconsin Association of Mediators, and at the University of Wisconsin Law School's Institute for Legal Studies have developed this further.