234 Governance and Education
above). Although in some cases their research may overlap with decision-oriented
research, academics usually have an additional interest, which is to conceptualize
and theorize about the findings. In other cases, this kind of ‘conceptual research’ has
little connection with decision-oriented research. It may, for example, involve
social psychological experiments in a laboratory setting, or may be oriented merely
towards observing the communicative intervention arena, with no intention to
directly inform decision making by communication professionals. As we have dis-
cussed under the heading of extension science, conceptual research is still often
applied research since it frequently seeks to develop or test theories that have prac-
tical or even prescriptive implications for communication workers. Thus, the main
difference between decision-oriented and conceptual research lies in the level of
abstraction and the intention of the researcher, and not so much in its applicabil-
ity. As Kurt Lewin stated: ‘There is nothing so practical as a good theory’. Given
its theoretical aspirations, however, conceptual research will often have to meet
different (i.e. academic) standards, in terms of preparation, methodology and anal-
ysis, from those of decision-oriented research.
Notes
1 Note that in some cases such conflicts are in part the result of previous interventions by others or
one’s own organization.
2 By ‘external’ we mean persuasive interests that derive from donors or governments who play a role
in the ‘back of the mind’ of the communication worker. This is in contrast to a situation where a
change agent presents advice persuasively to emphasize that he really (‘internally’) believes that it
is in the best interest of the – perhaps even paying – farmer to solve a problem in a particular
way.
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