Masters Dissertation Example

2.5 Dissemination of research findings 
Regardless of the type of research that is published in the scientific literature relative to 
conservation needs, the matter of the extent to which the information published in journals 
reaches its target audience obviously influences whether or not there is any discernible action 
as a result (Linklater, 2003). Indeed, there are many who believe that a lack of knowledge is 
not the limiting factor; rather the failure to properly collate and distribute it (Pimm et al, 2001) 
with information ‘flowing passively’ through journals (Lomas, 1993). It is thought that more 
often than not it is down to the practitioners to locate the information and determine its utility 
(Fazey et al, 2004), and they are restricted in the time they can spend searching the volumes of 
literature (Brussard & Tull, 2007; Pullin & Knight, 2005), as well as by finance and 
accessibility (Sutherland et al, 2004) 
 

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2.5.1 Systematic review 
The process of systematic review (Pullin & Knight, 2005; Pullin et al, 2004; Sutherland et al, 
2004) whereby all the information on a topic is brought together and reviewed independently 
has been suggested in order to address these issues, and to support decision making. This 
would involve a central database containing all information, both qualitative and quantitative, 
providing a flow of information between scientists and practitioners similar to the medicine 
framework (Pullin & Knight, 2005). Parallels have been drawn between conservation and 
medicine, as two ‘crisis disciplines’ in which research and practice are often separate elements 
of the same field conducted by two separate groups, with some overlap (Sutherland et al, 
2004; Fazey et al, 2004). However, medical research is more experimental than conservation 
research (Fazey et al, 2004), and the practical application will not differ as much from case to 
case 
Although medicine can perhaps be used as a model in developed countries, it is unlikely that 
the system would hold when transferred to developing countries, where conservation action is 
most needed. Indeed, it could be argued that systematic reviews would not address the 
problem in developing countries. In Tanzania, for example, scientists are limited in terms of 
influence on conservation action unless a forum for international research institutions to 
inform local institutions can be established (Bergerhoff Mulder et al, 2007). Whilst 
accessibility of information to practitioners in a usable format is a key problem (Pullin & 
Knight, 2005), systematic reviews would be a huge undertaking, and the degree to which such 
research would influence conservation post-publication has not yet been established. 
It would perhaps be of greater relevance to establish the degree to which research published in 
the scientific literature influences conservation when disseminated in other forms, such as 
through local forums. It has already been established that information relevant to conservation 
can also be obtained through channels other than the scientific literature (section 2.1.2), but 
the relative contributions of forums such as the internet, grey literature, local journals, local 
reports, and personal communication networks for dissemination of findings have not been 
empirically analysed.