I find this article very interesting because I've never struggle with figuring out why the rest of the world should care about my research. Maybe it is because I come from an activist background and because my research interests start from practical/real-life problem, but if anything, what I find difficult is anchoring my research in the scholarly field. I know why people outside of research would find it interesting, I am more unsure about other researchers. Like, sure I should dialogue with them, but I am more interested about dialoguing with people outside who are working in practice with the problems I am studying.
I’m so glad to hear you’ve maintained such a clear vision of why your research matters! I’ve noticed that many people come into graduate school with exactly that kind of clarity—especially those coming from activist or practice-based backgrounds—but as we get trained and socialized into academic norms, that vision can sometimes get a bit muddied.
You’re absolutely right that grounding research in real-world problems is powerful. At the same time, I think the most compelling scholarship manages to do both: it contributes meaningfully to the scholarly conversation and stays connected to the broader world it seeks to impact. It’s hard to get published without the former, but I agree we often pay too little attention to the latter. The disciplining of academia can make it easy to lose sight of the forest for the trees.
I find this article very interesting because I've never struggle with figuring out why the rest of the world should care about my research. Maybe it is because I come from an activist background and because my research interests start from practical/real-life problem, but if anything, what I find difficult is anchoring my research in the scholarly field. I know why people outside of research would find it interesting, I am more unsure about other researchers. Like, sure I should dialogue with them, but I am more interested about dialoguing with people outside who are working in practice with the problems I am studying.
I’m so glad to hear you’ve maintained such a clear vision of why your research matters! I’ve noticed that many people come into graduate school with exactly that kind of clarity—especially those coming from activist or practice-based backgrounds—but as we get trained and socialized into academic norms, that vision can sometimes get a bit muddied.
You’re absolutely right that grounding research in real-world problems is powerful. At the same time, I think the most compelling scholarship manages to do both: it contributes meaningfully to the scholarly conversation and stays connected to the broader world it seeks to impact. It’s hard to get published without the former, but I agree we often pay too little attention to the latter. The disciplining of academia can make it easy to lose sight of the forest for the trees.
Very helpful, thank you.