The nature, utility and essential unknowability of research in our disciplines: an editor's view. .

The nature, utility and essential unknowability of research in our disciplines: an editor's view. . Paradox, paradox, paradox. The more we know, the less we know ... One of the marks of maturity in any profession is that genuineresearch is one of the contributors to that body of literature whichunderpins both theory and practice. It is only recently that we in ourdisciplines have begun to generate significant research with thepotential to add to that theoretical base (or `literature') whichis the foundation for their practice: this is now happening to anacceptable degree. More problematic, however, is the extent to which thefruits of research are harvested and made available to the profession asa whole via another cornerstone of that claim to professional maturity,the `learned journal'. Despite two decades of approaches, often verging on entreaty, toindividual researchers, this editor must confess that he has been lessthan successful in ensuring that the pages of the Australian LibraryJournal carry a truly representative sampling or even an indication ofthe relevant and often excellent work that is being carried out in thiscountry. Another consequence, which confronts the profession at large aswell as this editor, is that there are very few ways in which theresearch agenda can be monitored, and priorities set or adjusted: thisis a present concern of the ALIA Board of Directors. The touchstone touchstoneBlack, silica-containing stone used in assaying to determine the purity of gold and silver. The metal to be assayed is rubbed on the touchstone, and then a sample of metal of known purity is rubbed on the stone right next to it. of the research process is the PhD. Once a rarity inour disciplines, it is now not unusual for members of the profession tohave completed or to be enrolled in a research-based degree at thedoctoral level. In addition, and outside the academy, there is a smallbut effective cadre (company) CADRE - The US software engineering vendor which merged with Bachman Information Systems to form Cayenne Software in July 1996. making its way in applied research either asconsultants, by way of attachment to the staff establishment of largeinstitutions, or as a way of intellectual life. In the academy, thethesis is the crown and primary indicator of quality in a researchdegree. I have now read a number at doctoral and master's levels inour field. It is clear that they compare favorably with work in otherfields in the humanities and sciences. The work of `attached' orconsulting researchers is naturally less accessible since the outcome isthe property of the sponsoring or commissioning organization: inaddition, research carried out at the behest of an institution ororganization is naturally more sensitive, often confidential andsometimes controversial. The pressure to publish is, or used to be, moreevident in the academy. An accepted corollary of the academic research process is that thework is open to access, discussion and evaluation by colleagues andpeers in the discipline, but the extent to which this occurs in theareas of interest central to our profession and its congeners is notclear to me. Certainly it is rare for articles based on `work inprogress' to be submitted to this journal as part of this process,and my impression is that peer review of research in hand is becomingmore perfunctory per��func��to��ry?adj.1. Done routinely and with little interest or care: The operator answered the phone with a perfunctory greeting.2. Acting with indifference; showing little interest or care. , and may consist of little more than a departmentalseminar: further, one's fellow researchers in the academy may not,in a professional discipline, be as competent to judge or to adviseabout a particular approach as one's colleagues in the field. Myfurther observation is that research supervisors are now so routinelyoverloaded that it is as much as they can do to provide even a modicumof guidance and supervision to candidates in the pursuit of theirresearch, let alone having significant input into the publication orpeer review processes. There is another issue which may be inhibitingthe flow and exchange of views and opinions: it arises partly, Isuspect, from a not unnatural inclination to keep secret the nature ofthe topic claimed by the researcher lest it be intruded upon, or evenappropriated by competitors. This adds to the difficulty of establishingthe full extent of research planned or in process, especially during theearly and formative stages of a project. Then there is the question ofresearch in the contiguous and congeneric con��ge��ner?n.1. A member of the same kind, class, or group.2. An organism belonging to the same taxonomic genus as another organism. fields: Australian literatureand that of the many other schools, including the British, which are nowpart of our heterogeneous culture; history; sociology; psychology;information and information technology--not to mention, much lessattempt to grapple with to enter into contest with, resolutely and courageously.See also: Grapple cross-disciplinary and interstitial In a separate window. See interstitial ad. (World-Wide Web) interstitial - A World-Wide Web page that appears before the expected content page. Interstitials can be used for advertising (intermercial, transition ad) or to confirm that the user is old enough to view the fields(where does the emergent phenomenon of `knowledge management'belong?). A particularly galling factor for me as editor is that manycandidates seem to put so much of their available energy into completionof their thesis that it is handed in with a sense of relief verging onaversion a��ver��sionn.1. A fixed, intense dislike; repugnance, as of crowds.2. A feeling of extreme repugnance accompanied by avoidance or rejection. or burn-out, and the last thing that they want, apparently, isto be required to revisit re��vis��it?tr.v. re��vis��it��ed, re��vis��it��ing, re��vis��itsTo visit again.n.A second or repeated visit.re their work--least of all to produce articlesfor publication with its attendant glory and dimly glimpsed dangers. Iused to tell my research students that at the moment of handing in theirthesis, they would by definition be the world's leading expert intheir topic. Such an expenditure of energy, intelligence, and clearly,spirit, the end result of which if it is not published, disappears intothe institutional archive! So much excellent and interesting work, whichto all intents and purposes Adv. 1. to all intents and purposes - in every practical sense; "to all intents and purposes the case is closed"; "the rest are for all practical purposes useless"for all intents and purposes, for all practical purposes vanishes on the day it is handed in. Whichleads to the question: why do we `do' research? If not forpublication of the results and extension and enhancement of the sharedbody of knowledge, then what? For love? Or money? My feeling is thelatter, by a factor of about 10. We do research nowadays for the samereasons we went to university in the first place: to get a meal ticket,or to improve one. It's the MBA argument. One of the problems is that of knowing who is doing what and where:ACHLIS is not readily accessible to me, so I am unable to form anopinion as to its effectiveness in assessing the breadth of work inprogress or completed. Nor am I sufficiently in touch with otherreference sources which I am sure exist, and which might be used toaddress some of the difficulties I have referred to. No doubt this isone of the issues that ALIAs LISEKA project is addressing, and I lookforward with immense interest to its findings and recommendations. To reiterate: if the results of research are not published,discussed and made accessible, then what is the point of the exercise?If research is the intellectual engine which drives the universities, itis, at least in our disciplines, running so quietly as to be unheard. In this issue we follow the path set out by Ian Mc Callum's`Returning to Ithaca to get on with the mission: defining value in termsof our contribution to our customers and our profession' hiskeynote address keynote addressn.An opening address, as at a political convention, that outlines the issues to be considered. Also called keynote speech.Noun 1. to the 2001 library technician's conference inHobart last August. Ian's paper, especially in relation to his useof the word `profession' set me thinking about the term `librarytechnician' and its implications. I dug up a paper I published inthese pages in, ah, 1981; a number of questions rose to the surface, andI went to the conference website to see how the technicians weretraveling. The answer is: very well indeed, to judge by the quality anddepth of the papers presented. I tender here a small selection, plus afortuitous paper by Mary Carroll The subject of this article may not satisfy the notability guideline for Biographies. If you are familiar with the subject matter, please expand or rewrite the article to establish its notability. on the education of librarytechnicians. Taken as a whole and individually, they present issues bothdirectly and indirectly, including that by now surely inappropriatedescriptor (1) A word or phrase that identifies a document in an indexed information retrieval system.(2) A category name used to identify data. (operating system) descriptor , which all of those with a stake in the continuing health ofthe profession should consider. The cover quote refers. More reviews, of course, and if you would like to join ProfessorGorman's spirited, entertaining and occasionally acerbic, circus ofreviewers, drop him a note at the Victoria University of Wellington, NZ.You don't have to be a `Roos supporter to get in and it will alsohelp you to build up your professional library.