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The Dialogical Model: Developing Academic Knowledge for and from Practice
Author(s) -
Avenier Marie Jose,
Cajaiba Aura Parmentier
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
european management review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.784
H-Index - 32
eISSN - 1740-4762
pISSN - 1740-4754
DOI - 10.1111/j.1740-4762.2012.01038.x
Subject(s) - dialogical self , construct (python library) , relevance (law) , knowledge management , toolbox , sociology , process (computing) , epistemology , constructivism (international relations) , pragmatism , engineering ethics , computer science , political science , philosophy , international relations , politics , law , programming language , engineering , operating system
In accordance with EMR 's will to promote the diffusion of research findings to practice, we propose a methodological framework for developing and communicating academic knowledge relevant for practice: the dialogical model. This model of engaged scholarship comprises five activities: specifying a research question, elaborating local knowledge, developing conceptual knowledge, communicating knowledge, and activating knowledge. The current paper focuses on the early stage of research question design and presents the epistemological framework in which the model was initially developed. It also offers guidance on how to maintain academic value and practical relevance in tension throughout the research process. Examples illustrate how to construct research questions relevant both for academia and practice, and how to justify validity in pragmatic constructivism. This model can likewise be mobilized in other epistemological frameworks, particularly for knowledge generation purposes. It enriches the researchers’ methodological toolbox by adding a new procedural tool that provides valuable guidelines from the very start of research projects.