for the greater good.
I've been thinking more about the research process lately, in part because of yesterday's ethical crisis, and in part because it's a natural part of reflecting on how the semester has gone and where I'd like to be more purposeful, better, and different, next term. So I'd like to take a moment to think aloud about a few things related to research process, autonomy, interdependence, and social responsibility.
Mixed in with the froot loop advisors I've had, I've also had the good fortune of having a few really spectacular mentors. There has been one in particular, however, who has spent a tremendous amount of time encouraging me to be ever more thoughtful and planful about the power I have as a faculty member, and about the way in which I conduct research. She started in on me, trying to make me think about all this in my second year of grad school. At the time I just wanted her to leave me alone, but I think that she had a number of good points, and I can see many of the choices I've made recently, and many of the worries I have about the inclusiveness of my research process as stemming from the values that she held up for me, and which I seem to have adopted and personalized.
But it's complicated.
The values around research and ethics that I've been encouraged toward, mentored under, and adopted myself are:
1. Work as hard as possible in your early career so you can go anywhere.
2. Produce, produce, produce. I've interpreted this as seven manuscripts out a year. I think my advisor actually thinks this is nuts but that's what you get when you tell me to be ultra-productive.
3. Don't worry about being the best, worry about doing your best, the rest will follow.
4. Network. You need to know the people who are carrying out the important research in your field and subfields and you want them to know you and respect you.
5. Don't ever be afraid to ask questions--even of big named researchers, but don't do it to look like a know-it-all, but rather as an expression of true curiosity and in the spirit of intellectual exchange of ideas.
6. If you have the data to do it, you can claim things that fly in the face of or radically depart from the existing literature, but you'll be better positioned if you do that while also maintaining relationship with the people who wrote the other literature.
7. Do what you love and then find all the marketable avenues possible for this work.
8. Do research that has practical applications and implications. This certainly wouldn't apply in the same way in many fields, but in the social sciences and applied fields, it seems important to do practically important work.
9. Do enough work to always be above the minimum expectations. Do it in a way that makes sure other people are taking notice, but in a way that invites people into the process and into conversation rather than as a show off.
10. Judge yourself and your goodness as a scholar not by how much you've produced, but by how much you've contributed to actually enhancing the experiences and outcomes of people affected by your work, and to other emerging scholars who seek to be a part of the community of scholars you are in.
11. Remember #10. The greater good is what you're working for first, your own advancement is certainly second to that.
12. Maintain a sense of humor, an openness to surprise, and a dedication to supporting others' scholarly development.
13. Remember that the research community is only one community to traffic in--maintain good relations and partnerships with practitioners.
14. And again, the legacy you seek to leave is not about what you produce, but in how much you are able to support others so they can confidently and self-assuredly enter the communities in which they seek entrance.
See the emphasis of support and working for others? Yeah. That social responsibility was supremely important to one of my mentors and she taught me from that perspective. And I find that the social responsibility has been passed on.
I don't think this means I should just open up my data and hand it out on the street, or haphazardly slap other peoples' names on my papers, but I do think that it is my responsibility and it is for the greater good of my work if I open up my research process to others. At first I opened up only to experts who could help me grow as a researcher, but as I've become more skilled, more confident, and taken on projects beyond my dissertation I've purposefully tried to include others in this process. I've been working with two MA students from LMRU on one project and their thinking, their practical experience, and their questions have helped me grow. By the end of the academic year we will have submitted a manuscript, given two conference presentations, and kicked off another study together. At UU I've taken on a student who is not mine, but whose advisor has given me her blessing to include said student in my research. This student shares interests with me and so we're going to give a talk together in the Spring, and we've just proposed another. In these instances, I've been asked, "Why? What drives you? I think it's cool, but why?" At first I didn't have an answer, but I think it all really goes back to this issue of social responsibility and desire to bring in more good thinkers, and for me (and this is selfish), a desire to learn more and to be challenged to think from different perspectives, because ultimately it makes my work better. But I also believe you cannot use people and then walk away and pretend it's really all you all the way.
One thing that's been complicated and that I've thought about a lot lately is that while all these values are great for tenured faculty members who have jobs and are pretty much all situated, how might they be different for us junior folks. I am, after all, a baby professor with a career to create still and the hopes of going back on the job market in a few years. There are certain things I need to focus on in terms of self-development. But the more I've thought about this, the more I've realized that my self develops best, fastest, and in the most interesting ways when I interact and learn from and with others. Sure I'll maintain enough single authored work to get ahead, but I seek to create relationships not squish them out.
I also think that (and this is some bragging, so beware) I've been blessed with an ability to crank out studies and manuscripts at a rather terrific pace and at a success rate (in terms of publication) that's blown me away. I also happen to be fortunate enough to have a job that is cushy, supportive--financially and in terms of time--so that I can continue on at a good clip without much in the way of hindrances. And so I could just bask in my privilege, or I could choose to use it to support the development and success of others. I think the latter sounds much more fun and much more rewarding, and definitely for the greater good.
Mixed in with the froot loop advisors I've had, I've also had the good fortune of having a few really spectacular mentors. There has been one in particular, however, who has spent a tremendous amount of time encouraging me to be ever more thoughtful and planful about the power I have as a faculty member, and about the way in which I conduct research. She started in on me, trying to make me think about all this in my second year of grad school. At the time I just wanted her to leave me alone, but I think that she had a number of good points, and I can see many of the choices I've made recently, and many of the worries I have about the inclusiveness of my research process as stemming from the values that she held up for me, and which I seem to have adopted and personalized.
But it's complicated.
The values around research and ethics that I've been encouraged toward, mentored under, and adopted myself are:
1. Work as hard as possible in your early career so you can go anywhere.
2. Produce, produce, produce. I've interpreted this as seven manuscripts out a year. I think my advisor actually thinks this is nuts but that's what you get when you tell me to be ultra-productive.
3. Don't worry about being the best, worry about doing your best, the rest will follow.
4. Network. You need to know the people who are carrying out the important research in your field and subfields and you want them to know you and respect you.
5. Don't ever be afraid to ask questions--even of big named researchers, but don't do it to look like a know-it-all, but rather as an expression of true curiosity and in the spirit of intellectual exchange of ideas.
6. If you have the data to do it, you can claim things that fly in the face of or radically depart from the existing literature, but you'll be better positioned if you do that while also maintaining relationship with the people who wrote the other literature.
7. Do what you love and then find all the marketable avenues possible for this work.
8. Do research that has practical applications and implications. This certainly wouldn't apply in the same way in many fields, but in the social sciences and applied fields, it seems important to do practically important work.
9. Do enough work to always be above the minimum expectations. Do it in a way that makes sure other people are taking notice, but in a way that invites people into the process and into conversation rather than as a show off.
10. Judge yourself and your goodness as a scholar not by how much you've produced, but by how much you've contributed to actually enhancing the experiences and outcomes of people affected by your work, and to other emerging scholars who seek to be a part of the community of scholars you are in.
11. Remember #10. The greater good is what you're working for first, your own advancement is certainly second to that.
12. Maintain a sense of humor, an openness to surprise, and a dedication to supporting others' scholarly development.
13. Remember that the research community is only one community to traffic in--maintain good relations and partnerships with practitioners.
14. And again, the legacy you seek to leave is not about what you produce, but in how much you are able to support others so they can confidently and self-assuredly enter the communities in which they seek entrance.
See the emphasis of support and working for others? Yeah. That social responsibility was supremely important to one of my mentors and she taught me from that perspective. And I find that the social responsibility has been passed on.
I don't think this means I should just open up my data and hand it out on the street, or haphazardly slap other peoples' names on my papers, but I do think that it is my responsibility and it is for the greater good of my work if I open up my research process to others. At first I opened up only to experts who could help me grow as a researcher, but as I've become more skilled, more confident, and taken on projects beyond my dissertation I've purposefully tried to include others in this process. I've been working with two MA students from LMRU on one project and their thinking, their practical experience, and their questions have helped me grow. By the end of the academic year we will have submitted a manuscript, given two conference presentations, and kicked off another study together. At UU I've taken on a student who is not mine, but whose advisor has given me her blessing to include said student in my research. This student shares interests with me and so we're going to give a talk together in the Spring, and we've just proposed another. In these instances, I've been asked, "Why? What drives you? I think it's cool, but why?" At first I didn't have an answer, but I think it all really goes back to this issue of social responsibility and desire to bring in more good thinkers, and for me (and this is selfish), a desire to learn more and to be challenged to think from different perspectives, because ultimately it makes my work better. But I also believe you cannot use people and then walk away and pretend it's really all you all the way.
One thing that's been complicated and that I've thought about a lot lately is that while all these values are great for tenured faculty members who have jobs and are pretty much all situated, how might they be different for us junior folks. I am, after all, a baby professor with a career to create still and the hopes of going back on the job market in a few years. There are certain things I need to focus on in terms of self-development. But the more I've thought about this, the more I've realized that my self develops best, fastest, and in the most interesting ways when I interact and learn from and with others. Sure I'll maintain enough single authored work to get ahead, but I seek to create relationships not squish them out.
I also think that (and this is some bragging, so beware) I've been blessed with an ability to crank out studies and manuscripts at a rather terrific pace and at a success rate (in terms of publication) that's blown me away. I also happen to be fortunate enough to have a job that is cushy, supportive--financially and in terms of time--so that I can continue on at a good clip without much in the way of hindrances. And so I could just bask in my privilege, or I could choose to use it to support the development and success of others. I think the latter sounds much more fun and much more rewarding, and definitely for the greater good.
