NCJ Number
137822
Journal
Criminal Justice Review Volume: 17 Issue: 1 Dated: (Spring 1992) Pages: 77-93
Date Published
1992
Length
17 pages
Annotation
Interviews were conducted with top administrators, program managers, and research personnel, and documents and project memorandums were reviewed to examine the role of and potential for in-house research as a factor in policymaking and decisionmaking in a large nonprofit criminal justice organization.
Abstract
The examination revealed the enigmatic situation of a professional organization in which in-house evaluation and other in-house research efforts are accorded relatively little value. Factors of possible importance in understanding use and nonuse of research information include: the research-producing component may be influenced by normative expectations that differ from those of decisionmakers, especially ideas about impact; factors that influence, shape, and constrain use are likely to arise within the decisionmaking context; and the transmission of research information may figure prominently in use or nonuse. The leadership and all involved members of this organization and organizations that confront similar difficulties need to focus on recoupling and to attend to the following matters: plan for research and for research utilization, refocus to a more realistic set of expectations on the part of researchers about their roles, and improve communication. 17 references (Author abstract modified)