You say “tomato”…I say “ketchup”…

Are any of you out there are “Trekkies”?  I was a TNG fan (If you don’t know what that is then you’ve already answered my first question).  Even if you aren’t, what was always cool about the episodes was that no matter what new group of beings the crew encountered (e.g.,  Romulans, Borg, Cardassians, Bajoran, Klingon, or Ferengi) they all were  able to speak to each other using the “Universal Translator”.  Speaking the same language, however, didn’t necessarily mean they arrived readily at a common understanding.  In most cases, they did eventually get there (except the Borg of course!) but it involved not only using a common language but using that in a meaningful conversation.

In some ways, the role of Research should be like that of Star Trek’s universal translator.  At Kinark, one  job for Research and Evaluation is to look at what is happening the research and scientific community and help to translate it to our at the agency. We also look at our own data and information and work with IT and clinical staff to make sure we make the correct translation about what this means.  In turn, we  need to bring that information back to the scientific and academic world to let them know when something works “on the ground” and when it doesn’t. Another job is to work with clinical staff and IT to make sure that the needs of families and clinicians are translated into new information systems that will make work easier and produce usable information.  Finally, in our role as “universal translators” we need to demystify research and evaluation (e.g., what is an ANOVA exactly, how do we measure goals and objectives for families), to help our families and community partners understand and build evaluations that reflect experiences and lead us all to common understandings of needs, strengths and outcomes.  All of this involves, not only developing a common language, but also involves taking the time to develop a common understanding.

P.S.  I love both tomatoes and ketchup!