Sunday, November 23, 2008

Why blog?

Research can be an isolating endeavor. The work I do- reading the published literature, organizing data, crunching numbers, writing papers- can be accomplished mostly with a laptop in an office by myself.

This is not to say that all of my work is done in isolation. I do much of my work in community-based settings. I collaborate with service providers and policy makers. I work with survivors of violence. And I use a team-approach to conduct much of my research; I collaborate with other researchers and students.


I also work to publicize my research findings through the usual academic channels- conference presentations and peer-reviewed publications. Using these forms of communications, I hope that service providers, policy makers and other researchers will use the findings to benefit their own work, as well as respond to give me new insights into my research.

Nevertheless, I find myself wanting feedback on my research faster than the publication process allows; to hear what others think about my initial ideas before they are ready for publication; to help spread the word about best practices and important research findings; and to make links between what I see in the media and the research on violence and trauma.

Furthermore, I have come to realize that finding the best ways to help violence survivors and how to prevent violence require creativity and innovation. And I believe that creativity and innovation do not occur in isolation. Creative and innovative solutions develop in conversations with others.

For all these reasons, I am blogging to help begin some of these important conversations about violence and trauma. It is my sincere hope that this blog will foster such conversations.

2 comments:

Bickford said...

I'm so glad you're blogging - I learn so much from your work.

Leslie Ann Lovett, MSW, LCSW said...

Hello Rebecca! I am new to blogging and am thrilled to find your blog. Thanks for sharing your important work here!