Qualitative Research in Practice : Stories From the Field - Blogs Unpad

Epilogue
are presented to the way in which the decision-makers normally
receive information.
The suggestions above are focused on making recommendations in
relation to the research site of a particular program which has been
evaluated. Most research will have implications which go well
beyond a specific research site, and may need to be disseminated in
different ways to different audiences, as was discussed in the
previous chapter. The external environment will also greatly influence
whether there is a receptive climate for the research. Often the
origin of the research occurs within a particular policy and social
context which also affects how it is received. However, given the
dynamic and turbulent field of the human services, the research
may be finally delivered in a very different context to that in which
it was conceived. This may mean that the findings are seen as dated
and so are easily passed over.
Conversely, the findings can sometimes take on greater salience
in an external environment which has changed significantly since
the research commenced. An example of this is the study on
adoption experiences of older children undertaken by Caroline
Thomas and her colleagues. The publication of the book coincided
with very high-level political attention on the issue of children
languishing in institutions when they were eligible for adoption.
This helped to give the study a higher profile than it might otherwise
have received.
When making recommendations researchers need to be mindful
of the context of their study in terms of its time and place. Extrapolating
the findings of a study to other contexts is always a central
issue in human services. Researchers and those who utilise research
must therefore be very aware of the core components of the context
in which the research was done and the core components of the
context in which the recommendations arising from it may be implemented.
Sometimes the most important contextual components of both
the research site and where it is hoped to apply the findings are not
very visible, as they tend to be taken for granted. This is a particular
challenge when crossing different service systems in the human
services field, as very different legislation and service systems exist
across regions and states, as do demographic differences. The
challenge is even greater when crossing national and cultural
boundaries.
179