So, What is Research? Translating the Academy for the Market

• In Event: 2481 - Sociology in Practice Settings Symposium Roundtable Session
  In Informal Discussion Roundtable: Table 07. Communicating Sociology's Value-Added

Abstract

In this interactive workshop, Dr. Kristen Nielsen Donnelly (Executive Vice President and Dr. Erin Hinson (VP of Research Development) from Abbey Research will discuss how to effectively translate academic language for use in the marketplace.
Abbey Research is a bespoke research firm serving small businesses and non-profits, utilizing qualitative and ethnographic methods to perform organizational analysis for clients. Common themes of exploration include organizational culture, leadership development, gender dynamics, and multi-generational workspaces. The most common question the staff receives is ‘what is research’. Throughout the company’s history, the staff has been consistently reminded how often academic language sounds like word salad outside the hall of towers, ivory or otherwise.
Participants in this workshop will leave with concrete exercises on how to take academic expertise and communicate it to the marketplace. This can be used for online courses (like Kajabi), webinars, website copy, job interviews, or dinner table conversations. This skill is vital in the knowledge economy and yet there is shockingly little training on it, which this workshop will address.

Author

• Kristen Nielsen Donnelly, Abbey Research