What We Do - Research

The SoL Constitution defines research as "the disciplined pursuit of discovery and understanding, with commitment to share what is learned." Our diversity of approaches to research is a strength of the SoL community.

We view "research" as a core part of the learning process that is part of all effective practice among humans, perhaps all intelligent life. In this sense, research includes careful observation and data collection in many ways, as well as the analysis and interpretation of that data. All effective practitioners and consultants, as well as researchers, do some of these research activities as they generate and test the knowledge they need to perform in their jobs. They may share their learning by word of mouth or by publication, and it can have wide applicability and usefulness. SoL's challenge is to build upon these informal activities to create a collective knowledge creation process - a process that is broader, more rigorous, and ultimately more robust in its output. A critical step toward this goal will be to make these informal, routine practitioner and consultant activities a more defined, purposeful part of the knowledge creating work of the SoL community.

At the same time, certain kinds of observation or measurement require special methods (e.g. rating scales, meters, surveys, observation schedules, interviews). Hypothesis testing in some cases requires comparing and combining data from more than one site. Pursuing knowledge down those avenues is a skilled activity and is difficult to do informally, in combination with the pressing responsibility for delivering results that practitioners and consultants typically face. So, we have a need for a specialized research role and for formal research projects. These are key pieces of the collective knowledge creation process, and they are not the exclusive preserve - or the sole responsibility - of research members. SoL's distinctive advantage in knowledge creation lies in its tripartite membership structure. To capitalize on this advantage, all must engage in the process.

We believe that research should be a part of everything that SoL does. With these ideas in mind, our vision of research at SoL is:

All SoL members participate in and benefit from the creation and dissemination of new knowledge on organizational learning.

Specifically,

• Every member corporation is engaged in some knowledge-creating activity including a research component
• Every major SoL meeting and activity, including projects and consortia, includes researchers along with consultants and practitioners
• Consultants and practitioners appreciate and even develop their own research skills
• Research is able to raise leading-edge questions as well as address practical issues of building a learning organization
• Knowledge gained through research continually strengthens capacity-building efforts and practice in the SoL community.
  

For additional information, please contact info@solonline.org