Date of Award
5-2019
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Communication Studies
Committee Member
Darren Linvill, Committee Chair
Committee Member
Meghnaa Tallapragada
Committee Member
Andrew Pyle
Abstract
Scholars have debated whether communication research is producing an impact on communication practices and outcomes. With the communication discipline being uniquely positioned to be both relevant and applicable to public audiences, the relevance and applicability of the discipline are futile if the final resting place of communication scholarship is academic journals. A fundamental element of producing significant research that addresses society's biggest problems is communicating with public audiences. The purpose of this research was to understand any challenges involved in the public knowledge transfer (KT) of research by communication faculty to public audiences. Identifying participants through Criterion Sampling, this research conducted 17 in-depth interviews with communication tenured (n=10) and tenure-track (n=7) faculty. Participant responses revealed six prospective barriers to KT. These barriers fell into either internal (Career Agenda, Self-Efficacy, Assumption of Public Appeal) or external (Academic Structure, Lack of Institutional Support, Research Funding Bodies) categories. The implications of these findings to the public, administrators, and faculty are discussed.
Recommended Citation
White, Vincent, "Barriers to Public Knowledge Transfer Within the Field of Communication" (2019). All Theses. 3059.
https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_theses/3059