Perspectives: Bridging the Research-Practice Gap: There is a cultural divide between diversity practitioners and academic researchers—ironic, given our professional focus on cultural divides. This is unfortunate. It decreases the usefulness of research and the effectiveness of practice. The purpose of this column will be to bridge the gap between diversity researchers (especially academics) and practitioners. While the research-practice gap is real and is substantial, we hasten to add that it is not universal. Some researchers also consult and some practitioners have relevant academic training. Unfortunately, these are the exceptions.
To bridge the research-practice gap, practitioners and academics must talk to one another. So that’s what we’ll be doing in this column. David [Kravitz] is the academic, with a doctorate in social psychology and postdoctoral training in industrial-organizational psychology.
