Why we do irrelevant research

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Authors
Suchan, Jim
Subjects
Advisors
Date of Issue
1993
Date
Publisher
Sage Publications
Language
Abstract
Smeltzer argues that there are significant differences between research issues business practitioners and business communication researchers view as important. Not surprisingly, these differences result in publications (at least in JBC) that appear to have little value to practitioners. Some academics, though, would argue that Smeltzer's concern is unwarranted. They strongly believe a university's job is to discover or produce new knowledge; consequently, the direction or content of academic research should not be heavily influenced by practitiners' needs. Although this idealized depiction of university research has great appeal, I believe this view is politically naive and, more importantly, negates the integrating role between knowledge and practice that professional schools (for example, business, law, and medicine) and academic areas such as business communication play. Like Smeltzer, I to believe we need to better connect the research we produce with practitioners' needs, and I offer three concrete reasons this disconnect has occurred.
Type
Article
Description
Series/Report No
Department
Graduate School of Business & Public Policy (GSBPP)
Organization
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
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NPS Report Number
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Format
Citation
The Journal of Business Communication, v.30, no.2, 1993, pp. 202-203
Distribution Statement
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This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.
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