It has been very interesting to read and digest the comments being passed on the ITForum by people who are concerned with relevance of research and who have had some contribution to make to the discussion.
I was hoping that some readers might be prepared to offer some tangible examples of socially relevant research and to indicate what led them along the appropriate path. One pattern that seems to emerge from all the discussion is that the conduct of socially relevant research is very much dependent on the individual researcher rather than the systems, groups or agencies that support research efforts. It seems that to do socially relevant research requires a researcher to swim against the tide and flow of current practice. Is this the case?
Some interesting issues have emerged from the discussion to date. Chet [Hedden, 20 Mar 95] poses a very basic question for us and one that sits at the heart of the discussion. He asks why research must be relevant and suggests the discovery of new knowledge is itself sufficient cause for endeavor. While few would argue with the need for research of this kind, most would agree that the field of educational technology has the prospect to make a considerable contribution to humankind and research that leads us along this path would be preferable to that which causes us to meander in our current position. Do you agree with that Chet?
Merle [Vogel, 21 Mar 95] asked me to provide a clearer definition for the motivation and purpose of research. I see the purpose of a research project as being tied directly to the goals that it seeks to achieve. In my view the purpose should extend beyond hoping to make some findings, and should include some expectation that the outcomes of the research will find useful application. I see many of the forces motivating researchers, for example, academic recognition and achievement, not encouraging this extended purpose. Merle, your comment about the need for assessment to address higher-order learning is true but in this case we had a chicken-and-the egg situation. Teachers did not teach to achieve higher-order learning outcomes and the assessments gradually changed to reflect this despite the fact that the course objectives remained consistent. If students were able to achieve higher-order learning, the teachers would have been happy to include these outcomes as part of their instructional objectives.
One point that Merle raised that obviously impacts on the nature and direction of research in this field is the expectations and influences of those who supply the research funding. I wonder what the general expectations of the funding agencies are in this regard. One of the larger government funding agencies in Australia includes as its prime criteria for assessing proposals "the likelihood of the research leading to:
Even with these intentions, one still wonders whether this leads to research that is socially relevant or whether it leads to research that is guided and channeled by political and other influences. Allen provided some interesting insights into other factors that influence agencies choice of projects for funding, none of which seem to offer any comfort to those researchers with good intentions.
Bev's [Garcia, 20 Mar 95] response provides quite a clear focus to guide the choice of a research topic or research direction that would pass the test of social responsibility. Bev's guidelines are based on the completion of a thorough needs analysis and if applied properly would go a long way to weeding out research that might not lead to any practical or social advancement. I see in all Bev's suggestions the need for very close links between the researchers, teachers, and students.
I'm enjoying the banter, I hope it keeps up!! What I would like is some personal examples of relevant research. I'm sure there has been some done.