Essays
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Enabling Improvements: Combining Intervention and Implementation Research - Schober, Barbara
Transferring evidence‐based intervention programs effectively into practice and into the wider field of public policy often fails, even if the logic of evidence‐based approaches has become highly important in recent years. As a consequence, the field of implementation research has emerged, implementation frameworks have been developed, and implementation studies have been conducted. However, even if intervention research and implementation research have both achieved mentionable progress in the past, they are rather unrelated, and different traditions and research groups are involved. This might be one of the key reasons why there are still many problems in transferring evidence‐based programs into widespread community. In order to enable improvement in this field, in this essay, we argue for a systematic integration of intervention and implementation research as a promising emerging approach. Therefore, we recommend a six‐step procedure requiring researchers to design and develop intervention programs using a field‐oriented and participative approach from the beginning on. In particular, the perspective of policymakers has to be included as well as the wider context of values, rewarding systems, and basic attitudes in science. -
The Development of Expertise in Scientific Research - Feldon, David F.
Scientific research is a fundamental mechanism for both advancing human knowledge about the natural world and facilitating technological innovations that fuel economic development. As such, understanding and optimizing the pathways to expertise and professional success in this endeavor is vital to ensure sustained intellectual and financial benefits of scientific research. This essay summarizes the research on the development of expertise in the sciences from the psychology of science and research on graduate education. Examining new research trends that present an emerging picture of a specific trajectory for the development of research skills and frame the development of scientific research skills as direct outcomes of specific training practices, new directions for research that bridge the cognitive and socialization lenses are identified. -
The Diffusion of Scientific Innovations: Arguments for an Integrated Approach - Herfeld, Catherine
Although the diffusion of scientific innovations has been studied for a long time and in various disciplines, little work has been done to integrate findings into a larger framework. In this essay, we offer an integrated approach to studying how scientific innovations spread within and across preexisting and newly emerging research fields. Drawing on ‘sociology of science,’ ‘philosophy of science,’ and ‘history of science,’ we develop a framework that captures how scientific innovations are modified in the process of their adoption. This framework allows to specify conditions under which scientific innovations diffuse and to characterize the process of diffusion. We argue that the time is ripe for such an integrated view and suggest future lines of research for developing it further. -
The Evidence‐Based Practice Movement - Gondolf, Edward W.
The evidence‐based practice movement, particularly in the criminal justice field, has meant an increasingly influential role for social science research. Experimental program evaluations, considered to be the “gold standard,” are helping to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of interventions amid the need to cut costs. However, there continues to be questions about the implementation and conception of experimental designs in the “real‐world,” and to be resistance to such program evaluations from many practitioners. Several remedies have emerged including statistical modeling, multiple methods, and consensus panels to promote broader dialogue regarding program effectiveness. The ideal maybe to return evidence‐based practice to more of a collaborative process rather than a bottom‐line verdict. -
The Role of Data in Research and Policy - Anderson, Barbara A.
Data are essential for scientific research and policy planning. However, there needs to be attention to data quality and to the estimates and models based on those data. In addition, data need to be freely available for researchers to test new ideas and validate the work of others through replication, while respondents who provide data need to be protected. Three issues concerning data are addressed: (i) availability and accuracy of data for new research and reanalysis while protecting human subjects, (ii) problems with the estimation of indicators based on flawed or nongeneralizable data, and (iii) the use of data to develop models for projecting the future, the assumptions on which those models are based, and the assessment of the accuracy of past projections. In each of these areas, increased attention is necessary on how data are used, interpreted, and made available to the scholarly and policy community. -
Translational Sociology - Wethington, Elaine
Translational sociology is an emerging style of sociology that applies sociological theory to addressing real‐world problems using established scientific methods. Translational sociology is distinguished by working in collaboration with other disciplines and professions, including policymakers, consumers, and other community stakeholders in multidisciplinary teams. It is a method intended to increase the value of sociological scholarship by creating equitable problem‐solving groups between sociologists and practitioners and policymakers. A key characteristic of translational sociology is that it develops strategies to address and resolve social problems through evidence‐based interventions. This essay describes the emergence of translational sociology as a concept with a focus on my collaborative experience in the definition, practice, implementation, and evaluation of federally funded translational research in community and clinical settings.