What’s the problem? Outcomes from small group discussions

During the first Shaping Autism Research seminar in Edinburgh, two sets of small group discussions were convened. Groups were compiled from seminar delegates from a range of backgrounds - community representatives of various kinds (e.g. autistic people, parents, third sector professionals) and practitioners and researchers from different disciplinary backgrounds.

Here we attempt to summarise and illustrate the main issues raised in the discussions on day one, where the overall topic was What’s The Problem? Within this topic, we asked groups to consider three specific questions:

1. What issues influence what research is done?

Our groups identified two main categories of constraints on research:

Resources. What research can be conducted is dependent on the timescale of the project, the funding available, access to participants (e.g. through gate-keepers such as schools) and opportunities for collaboration.

Funder priorities. The need to make applications for funding means that researchers are constrained by the priorities of the funder, such as a focus on childhood or early intervention, and a requirement for an impressive track record. A good track record is largely evidenced by securing large grants and publishing in academic journals. Funding bodies do not necessarily recognise  community impact of research and consequently, it can be hard to secure funding for this kind of work.

2. What issues influence what research translates into practice?

Analysis of the themes raised by the groups revealed five main barriers to translating research into practice:

Slow pace of research. This means that the accumulation of an evidence base will be gradual and research findings will take time to be put into practice.

Knowing how to implement research. Practitioners need to be given clear guidelines about how to implement research in practice.

Difficulty translating research to other populations. Research may be conducted with a specific subgroup of people with autism making it difficult to know how findings relate to other groups, such as older children or those with multiple needs.

Group vs. individual. Research findings that make generalisations at a group level can be challenging to apply when conducting individualised practice.

Availability and accessibility of research. Practitioners have limited time and may not be able to engage with research through e.g. attending seminars. Research needs to be presented to practitioners in a distilled format.

3. What issues influence what practice actually gets done?

This depends on the area of practice. In health, practitioners generally felt fairy confident about accessing research and using this to inform their practice. However in education, social care and the third sector, research may have little influence on practice. In particular, practitioners are not always trained or resourced to access research findings, distinguish between them on quality and relevance, or otherwise overcome the barriers listed above.

This analysis was carried out and reported by Sarah Hampton with Sue Fletcher-Watson