The Differences Between Practice Articles and Applied Research Articles
It is the intent of The New RE:view to provide a peer-reviewed venue for publication of promising and proven practices that are designed to enhance instruction to children and adults with visual impairment. The journal contains a mix of articles that focus on practice and will form a continuum including idea pieces known as practice reflections, practice reports, and applied research relating to practice.
Practice Articles Compared to Research Articles
In the field of visual impairment and blindness, there is room for both formal research as well as reports on practice. The editors and developers of The New RE:view believe that many practitioners are in situations that allow them to document insights they gain from practice and that publishing those insights can benefit the field.
This new journal has been established to provide practitioners with information that will enable them to learn from the experience of other practitioners as they strive to improve their instruction. The purpose of this document is to identify the differences between two types of practice articles and applied research, all of which are welcome in TNR.
Innovation in practice can be communicated through formal research studies that use controlled research methodologies, but also through approaches that describe impactful practices developed during the day-to-day teaching of learners. TNR strives to host a healthy mix of both research and practice articles with both focusing on practice-based inquiry.
Traditional empirical research is defined in federal regulations as "a systematic investigation including research development, testing, and evaluation, designed to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge" (45 CFR 46.102). Research is an activity that is specifically intended to provide answers to questions that can be added to the knowledge base of a discipline. When relating to practice, this includes conducting experiments with a sample population that will provide outcomes which may generalize to the larger population.
If, instead, an individual is reporting on normal educational or rehabilitation activities in the setting in which they normally occur and the outcomes are not tied to specific individuals, the activity is not considered research in the formal sense. This is an important distinction since research that involves human subjects must be reviewed by an Institutional Review Board (IRB) to assure the protection of subjects. Conclusions reached from everyday educational or rehabilitation practices that do not relate to identified participants do not require IRB review. TNR encourages these less-formal manuscripts and classifies them as either practice reflections or practice reports. These two kinds of articles provide insight into approaches that may be effective and can later be studied through more formal research.
Understanding empirical research can be a daunting task for many practitioners, requiring practitioners to recall their earlier education regarding statistical analysis. They often must review research concepts and practices as well as the many types of analyses. Faced with this predicament, many practitioners concentrate on the abstracts and conclusions. The New RE:view focuses on practitioner-generated reporting that is easily digestible and jargon-free. Certainly, there will also be articles that include more formal research, which we call applied research reports. We believe that this mix of articles will be attractive to practitioners and researchers alike.
Types of Articles for TNR
TNR accepts manuscripts in three basic categories: practice reflections, practice reports, and applied research reports. The first two types may negate the need for IRB approval. Both of these—practice reflections and practice reports—are appropriate for authors who work daily with learners who are blind or have vision loss. The following segments detail the nature of the three manuscript types that TNR publishes.
Practice Reflections
Practice reflections describe ideas and instructional strategies that have been effective with learners. Such articles will provide other practitioners with ideas and approaches that may allow them to enhance the effectiveness of their instruction. Practice reflection manuscripts do not follow a prescribed format. However, they should follow American Psychological Association (APA) style guidelines and may not exceed 2,000 words.
Practice Reports
Practice reports are descriptions of methods and materials that implement evidence-based or promising practices and include outcomes consistent with progress monitoring. They may report on activities with learners on a practitioner’s caseload as long as they are part of usual educational practices and anonymity is ensured. Practitioners may use the information collected as part of progress monitoring to report on the effectiveness of procedures used. However, the instructor must be certain that the procedures being used are a part of regular instruction and are not connected with identified individuals. If doubt remains, before collecting data, the practitioner must seek guidance from TNR about whether or not an IRB review is needed.
The format of a practice report manuscript should consist of the following:
- Title
- Abstract
- Introduction
- Context
- Staff (including the author’s role)
- Procedures
- Outcomes
- Conclusions
- Application to Practice
- References
Practice Reports should closely follow APA guidelines and may range between 1,000 and 3,000 words including references.
Applied Research Reports
Applied research reports are based on a recognized research methodology, which may include quantitative (group or single-subject designs), qualitative, or mixed-methods research. An IRB review must be sought when the procedures being tested are not part of everyday instruction, are part of a controlled study that involves human subjects and are intended to be generalizable. It is unethical to engage in such research without putting such safeguards in place. Authors submitting research manuscripts to TNR that has engaged human subjects must indicate the approval of the study by an IRB. The format of research manuscripts should include the following elements:
- Title
- Abstract
- Introduction
- Literature Review
- Methods
- Results
- Discussion
- Application for Practitioners
- References
Applied Research Reports should closely follow American Psychological Association (APA) seventh edition guidelines and may not exceed 5,000 words including tables and references. The abstract should follow the above structure, should not include references, and may not exceed 300 words.
The goal of applied research reports is to gather data about individuals in order to generalize from a sample to a larger population. This often requires asking subjects to participate in designated procedures designed to determine the effectiveness of a strategy. This approach is not a part of the everyday instruction that is normally provided in typical education and rehabilitation settings. As with all formal research, an IRB review must take place to make sure that those who participate are protected from physical and psychological harm. IRB review is most often left up to a university or a large educational entity to protect participants. Usually, an IRB review is only within the reach of someone who is employed by a university or a by school district that administers its own IRB.
Conclusion
As stated previously, The New RE:view is a practitioner-based journal and, subsequently, it is your journal where you may share your knowledge and experience with like-minded professionals. Reports of promising practices may stimulate others to try innovative approaches similar to yours. Sharing information with others through TNR provides you an opportunity to make a great profession even better.