PROFESSIONALISM, RESEARCH & WRITING Julia R. Miller, Ph.D.

1. PROFESSIONALISM, RESEARCH & WRITINGJulia R. Miller, Ph.D. Kappa Omicron NuLeadership Conclave &UndergraduateResearch Conference August 6, 2005 – Chicago, Illinois

2. PROFESSIONALISM What is Your Definition?

3. DEFINITIONS OF PROFESSIONALISM • Expectation to demonstrate behaviors that reflect a commitment to continuous professional development, ethical practice, and a responsible attitude toward recipients, the profession, society. This includes abilities to: • Demonstrate respect, compassion, integrity and altruism in relationships with students, colleagues and other stakeholders;

4. DEFINITIONS OF PROFESSIONALISM (Con’t) • Demonstrate sensitivity and responsiveness to gender, age, culture, religion, sexual preference, socioeconomic status, beliefs; • Adhere to principles of confidentiality, scientific/academic integrity, and accountability; • Recognize and identify deficiencies in personal and peer performance. Professionalism. (2005).http://users.umassmed.ed/colin.swales/prof.htm

5. DEFINITIONS OF PROFESSIONALISM (Con’t) • Maximizing knowledge • Being innovative • Showing constant improvement • Sharing knowledge • Ignoring distractions and losses • Producing quality work • Understanding the importance of communication, appearance, and mannerisms • Possessing a good attitude • Keeping up with ethics and legal issues • Comprehending programmatic thrusts Withrow, S. (2005). Defining Professionalism inIT. http://uk.builder.com/manage/work

6. PROFESSIONAL GOALS “If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll end up somewhere else.” – Yogi Berra Patton, M. Q. (1997). Utilization-Focused Evaluation: The New Century. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.

7. PROFESSIONAL GOALS When Alice encounters the Cheshire Cat in wonderland, she asks, “Would you tell me, please which way I ought to walk from here?” “That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat. “I don’t care where—” said Alice. “Then it doesn’t matter which way you walk,” said the Cat. “—so long as I get somewhere,” Alice added as an explanation. “Oh , you’re sure to do that,” said the Cat, “if you only walk long enough.” — Lewis Carroll

8. PROFESSIONALISM What are Your Goals?

9. How do professional goalschange over time? PROFESSIONALISM

10. RESEARCH AND PROFESSIONALISM • Guiding Principles for Researchers • Systematic Inquiry: Researchers conduct systematic, data-based inquiries. • Competence: Researchers provide competent performance to stakeholders. • Integrity/Honesty: Researchers ensure the honesty and integrity of the entire process. Patton, M. Q. (1997). Utilization-Focused Evaluation: The NewCentury. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.

11. RESEARCH AND PROFESSIONALISM (Con’t) • Respect for People: Researchers respect the security, dignity, and self-worth of respondents, program participants, clients, and other stakeholders with whom they interact. • Responsibilities for General and Public Welfare: Researchers articulate and take into account the diversity of interests and values that may be related to the general and public welfare.

12. RESEARCH PURPOSES • Predict • Build general laws

13. RESEARCH PURPOSES • Add To The Knowledge Base • Confirm findings • Replicate others’ work • Reinterpret previously collected data • Clarify structural and ideological connections between important social processes • Strengthen the knowledge base

14. RESEARCH PURPOSES • Have a Personal, Social, Institutional,and/or Organizational Impact • Deconstruct/reconstruct power structures • Reconcile discrepancies • Refute claims • Set priorities • Resist authority • Influence change • Promote change • Promote questioning • Improve practice • Change structures • Set policy

15. RESEARCH PURPOSES • Measure Change • Measure consequences of practice • Test treatment effects • Measure Outcomes

16. RESEARCH PURPOSES • Understand Complex Phenomena • Understand phenomena • Understand culture • Understand change • Understand people

17. RESEARCH PURPOSES • Test New Ideas • Test innovations • Test hypotheses/objectives • Test new ideas • Test new solutions

18. RESEARCH PURPOSES • Generate New Ideas • Explore phenomena • Generate hypotheses/objectives • Generate theory • Uncover relationships • Uncover culture • Reveal culture

19. RESEARCH PURPOSES • Inform Constituencies • Inform the public • Heighten awareness • Public relations • Enlighten • Hear from those who are affected by treatment/program • Describe the present • Comply with authority

20. RESEARCH PURPOSES • Examine The Past • Interpret/reinterpret the past • Acknowledge past misunderstandings • Reexamine tacit understandings • Examine Social and historical origins of current social problems Abbas, T. & Teddlie, C. (2003). Handbook of Mixed Methods In Social & Behavioral Research. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.

21. RESEARCH PARADIGMS:QUALITATIVE and QUANTITATIVE • Qualitative/Naturalistic Paradigm • Qualitative data (narratives, descriptions) • Naturalistic inquiry • Case Studies • Inductive analysis • Subjective perspective • Close to programs • Holistic contextual portrayal • Systems perspective focused on interdependencies • Dynamic, ongoing view of change • Purposeful sampling of relevant cases • Focus on uniqueness and diversity • Emergent, flexible designs • Thematic • Content analysis • Extrapolations

22. RESEARCH PARADIGMS:QUALITATIVE and QUANTITATIVE • Quantitative/Experimental • Quantitative data (numbers, statistics) • Experimental designs • Treatment and control designs • Deductive hypothesis testing • Objective perspective • Aloof from the program • Independent and dependent variable • Linear, sequential modeling • Pre-post focus on change • Probabilistic, random sampling • Standardized, uniform procedures • Fixed, controlled designs • Statistical analysis • Generalization Patton, M. Q. (1997). Utilization-Focused Evaluation: The New Century Text. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.

23. WRITING and PROFESSIONALISM “They say that figures rule the world.I do not know if this is true, but I doKnow that figures tell us if it is well or poorly ruled.” – Goethe, German Philosopher and Author(1747-1882), 1814 Patton, M. Q. (1997). Utilization-Focused Evaluation: The New Century Text. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.

24. WRITING and PROFESSIONALISM “Unless one is genius,it is best to aim at being intelligible” – Anthony Hope, British Novelist(1863-1933) Patton, M. Q. (1997). Utilization-Focused Evaluation: The New Century Text. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.

25. WRITING and PROFESSIONALISM : REPORTING OUTCOMES / RESULTS • Strive for balance when writing by providing multiple perspectives While focusing on simplicity in presenting information. • Be clear to reduce confusion, uncertainty or misinterpretation. • Make comparisons carefully and appropriately. • Write in a manner to assist stakeholders with statistical thinking and reasoning. • Interpret numbers and qualitative data to have meaning. • Interpret statistics and qualitative data with the understanding that there a varying degrees of error. Patton, M. Q. (1997). Utilization-Focused Evaluation: The New Century Text. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.

26. Recommendations should clearly follow from and be supported by findings. Distinguish different kinds of recommendations. Multiple options rather than recommendations may be more useful. Include benefits, costs of making changes and costs and risks for not making changes. Focus on actions within the control of intended users. Exercise political sensitivity in writing. Be careful and deliberate with wording. Allow time to write well. Develop strategies for recom-mendations to be taken seriously. Show future implications of recommendations. Remember that outcomes and recommendations may have different meaning for different stakeholders. WRITING and PROFESSIONALISM : REPORTING OUTCOMES / RESULTS • Make sure to formulate well written, carefully derived recommendations and conclusions. • Ten useful and practical guidelines: Patton, M. Q. (1997). Utilization-Focused Evaluation: The New Century Text. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.

27. SUMMARY • Research, Writing and Professionalism • Inform problem solving and decision making to maximize knowledge • Clarify options and assist with priority setting • Identify what is and what can be • Provides opportunities to exchange facts, ideas and innovations with colleagues • Influence and impact change • Provide information useful for stakeholders and policy makers within textual boundaries of time, place, values and politics

28. Friends To Adopt and Select When We Are Planning and Analyzing Our Professionalism, Research, and Writing

29. Six Honest Friends • Six Honest Serving Friends WhoTaught Me All I Know: • What • Why • When • How • Where • Who Patton, M. Q. (1997). Utilization-Focused Evaluation: The New Century Text. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.