IELTS Research Reports

Glenys Merrifield■■■■Royal College of Veterinary SurgeonsRoyal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain2.3.3 Ireland■■■■■■2.4 ResponsesIrish Nursing Board/ An Bord AltranaisIrish Medical CouncilPre-Hospital Emergency Care CouncilA total of twenty-four professional associations were approached to seek their participation andresponse to the study. Of these, fourteen agreed to actively participate and the remainder wereinvestigated primarily through desk research. The PLAB, which is an examination taken by medicalprofessionals in the UK, was considered together with the General Medical Council.There were some key constraints, however, in conducting a research project in which professional peoplewere asked to participate in a study which focused on an area which was outside the bounds of theirqualifications and expertise. In the UK in particular, contact with several professional associations forinterview could not be made, and some indicated that they were unable to fully participate.Possible reasons for this were as follows:■■■■■■■■Firstly, the twenty-first century workplace is characterised by staff who are “time poor”and who are dealing with a broad range of demands on their time. Some individuals maytherefore have been reluctant to participate in a research project which they may haveseen as not value-adding to their job or workplace.Secondly, the typical workplace for the associations being targeted in the project usedelectronic means to mass-communicate, making use of websites, email contact and virtualswitchboards. Security firewalls on websites and email accounts, and limited options onthe virtual switchboard, tended to be a barrier to communication, even in the case where akey contact had been identified.Thirdly, some staff in these organisations indicated that they were reluctant to beinterviewed, even in an informal manner, on a subject about which they had limitedknowledge.Finally, some of the smaller organisations were largely staffed by Council memberswho were still practising their profession and lending their expertise on a voluntary orconsultancy basis, and were unavailable for what they saw as an extraneous matter.In addition, some areas to be explored in the study depended upon historical records. Many of theprofessional associations and regulatory bodies approached had been operating for many years. Staffturnover and loss or lack of historical records meant that early policy and aspects of the history ofthe organisation (for example, the initial decision-making process on use of IELTS for languageassessment) could not be determined.Those who participated fully contributed valuable information and were generally pleased to have theopportunity to discuss their needs and gain some feedback about management of English languageassessment by other similar organisations.28 www.ielts.org