Building Support for Practice Research

Abstract

This chapter was designed to provide readers a broad understanding of factors that should be considered when attempting to implement research in a practice environment. Common obstacles to conducting research in practice settings are discussed in this chapter and include administrative factors, work demands placed on practitioners, the availability of research knowledge and skills, and the research tradition of some professions. To address these, recommendations have been developed to remediate these barriers. These involve building support and demand for practice research by increasing its value to stakeholders, the development of and/or accessibility to research skills, and providing the infrastructure necessary to conduct practice research. The importance of including practitioners in the process of building research capacity is discussed. In order to increase the chances of success, capacity building must be collaborative. All activities should include representation from all employee groups that will either participate in the research process or be consumers of research.