Research and Creative Work

A. What is research? What is creative work?

Every faculty member researches and creates. Both research and creativity--intertwined, interacting, and interdependent--are necessary to intellectual and artistic endeavor. The emphasis upon one of these activities or the other swings back and forth between them, depending upon the endeavor being undertaken. Some endeavors require a primary emphasis upon research and a secondary one upon creativity; in these endeavors creativity might be limited to those sparks of insight that shape the research. Other endeavors demand that the primary emphasis be placed upon creativity; here research may be only a means to the creative act.

Both research and creativity are in some combination necessary to most forms of work. Research and creativity are most productive when they are intertwined together, informing each other in complementary and mutually supportive ways. If research is understood as the major means to the advancement of knowledge, and if the ways of knowing are understood to include not only the intellectual way but also the instinctive, intuitive, imaginative, or poetic way, then the term research includes the advancement of each of these forms of knowledge

B. Developing an Agenda

It is essential to develop an overall plan for the development of your own research or creative activities, with each year spent working toward a subset of the overall goals. You must set priorities and organize what you want to accomplish by the comprehensive [4th year] review and what you need to have completed by the time of your tenure and promotion evaluation [7th year].

A recently adopted University of Colorado Administrative Policy Statement The Professional Plan for Faculty (which follows the CU-Denver Administrative Policy Statement Reappointment, Tenure, and Promotion) in this manual, requires all faculty members to develop a professional plan. The professional plan is intended to serve as the basis for discussions among faculty colleagues, to ensure that all faculty are working toward the goals of the unit. You should have your professional plan prepared for submission by the end of January of the first year of your appointment.

Successful plans for research/creative work include:

• choosing research topics or creative activities that can be pursued at CU-Denver

• making significant time for research or creative activities every day

• choosing thoughtfully the persons with whom you want to collaborate

• communicating regularly to your departmental colleagues about what you are doing

• establishing deadlines for yourself and adhering to them

• becoming involved in professional organizational activities

• making and nurturing contacts with significant contributors in your area of research or creative work

C. Maintaining and Sustaining Research

If you have recently completed your doctorate, as a first and easy project, develop an article for publication from your dissertation. You are exceedingly familiar with this work and you should find working with the material in another way a comfortable first venture into the publishing world. Once you have something published, you will feel more confident about developing a more sophisticated agenda.

Pursue your research agenda not only around semesters and courses, but also around the best times to collect data, around deadlines for conference and grant submissions, and around the best times to analyze data and write, etc. For example, if you are faced with particularly heavy teaching responsibilities one semester, determine how you can use your time weekly to collect data, do library research, or analyze the problem. Then, when more open blocks of time become available, you are ready to begin writing or to undertake other activities that require more time.

Some faculty members suggest working on three projects in different stages at a time. In this way, you are always working and will be continuously producing articles to submit for consideration for publication.

Schedule blocks of time to work on your research activities. Some people work best in whole-day blocks of time; some find a certain time of day better for writing. Schedule meetings and appointments with these considerations in mind, making sure you earmark sufficient, as well as high quality, time for your research activities. Do not be diverted by reading your mail or email or answering correspondence during the time you have designated for your research activities.

Engaging undergraduate students in your research pursuits, thereby integrating teaching and research, will enable you to enjoy much longer periods of time on your research work and will provide much needed assistance in certain aspects of the research work. The Office for Student Creative Activities and Research (OSCAR) has funds available for undergraduate student research/creative work. Submit a proposal for funding to add a new dimension to your scholarship.

Your research contributions will be evaluated for evidence of growth, impact on the field, originality, and future promise. Your work needs to evolve, breaking the previous mold of graduate and/or postgraduate study. Each discipline varies in terms of the kind of research contribution it most values, be it a book or journal article, be it empirical or theoretical work. Know what your discipline values!

Several rules generally hold across disciplines. Publication of popular books and textbooks does not count as heavily as other research endeavors. Writing a textbook is usually viewed as teaching, rather than research work, unless colleagues' letters attest to its research contributions.

CU-Denver has begun to recognize the value of collaboration, especially across disciplines. Work done in collaboration with others may be difficult to evaluate without explanation from you. You are the one best able to explain the nature of your independent contribution to a co-authored article. In your dossier, for all co-authored articles, provide an explanation of the role of each co-author and the meaning of the order of the names of co-authors. Letters from co-authors may be helpful. It is particularly important to explain your role in relation to co-authors who are students.

D. Maintaining and Sustaining Creative Work

The creative work of the imagination and the rational work of the intellect must not be isolated from one another through a false dichotomy, but must be joined together in collaboration: research/creativity, creativity/research.

Young faculty can develop and sustain a meaningful career working across the continuum between the pole of pure research/creativity and the pole of applied creativity/research. At the research/creativity pole, a young faculty member might conduct "pure" research into the abstract, theoretical underpinnings and fundamental principles of her discipline. At the creativity/research pole, one of her colleagues might practice the application of these fundamental principles in the addressing of local, regional, national, or global issues.

Both of these polar approaches, and each of the approaches that might be located along the continuum between them, are examples of the ways in which a young faculty member might develop and sustain a meaningful career of creative work. At the same time, however, the professional training that is implicit at the creative/research end of these polar opposites must recognize that to qualify as a 'profession,' an occupation or activity must involve some tradition of critical philosophical reflection, and probably the existence of a body of scholarly literature in which such reflection has been developed and debated.

Many of the suggestions in the immediately preceding section on research also apply to creative work: planning and scheduling your work around courses, semesters, submission deadlines for exhibitions, the best times for you for engaging in creative activities; planning sufficient and high quality blocks of time to work; not being distracted from your planned schedule; involving students in your creative pursuits; submitting proposals for funding to OSCAR.

Although your efforts will be primarily creative, your involvement in the following non-inclusive examples of activities will also be valued: juried shows in prestigious galleries; the mastering of a CD, video, or film of your work for non-profit and/or commerical distribution; design competition entries and rewards; planning and design awards; the publication of books, monographs, reports, and reviews that are important to the field; the development of successful computer software related to the field; website-design; peer-reviewed articles on history, theory, criticism, technology, or other related topics in the field; research and research-in-progress that can be evaluated by others in the field; participation in workshops and conferences that expand knowledge in the field; organization of workshops and conferences; invited presentations at workshops and/or conferences; invited lectures at other universities and to professional societies; professional commissions; built projects and approved longer-range plans that have been well-received; peer-reviewed portfolios of creative/research work. As with colleagues engaged primarily in research, you need to know what your creative discipline values.

As with research, your creative contributions will be evaluated for evidence of growth, impact on the field, originality, and future promise. Your work also needs to evolve, breaking the previous mold of graduate and/or postgraduate study.

E. Preparing for Publication, Performance, or Showing

CU-Denver colleagues or colleagues in your field at other institutions can advise you about the valued criteria for achievement in your field and about the reputation of journals, competitions, professional awards, galleries, or invitations. Your colleagues can also provide advice on drafts of your papers, creative work, or design work before you submit them to journals or competitions. Be sure to seek advice in this area, whether it comes from local or external sources.

It is important to publish your work promptly so that interested scholars can learn about it, cite it, and provide helpful critical feedback that will aid in shaping your future work. Do not wait until a book is completely finished before earmarking a piece (perhaps a pilot piece) for professional communication.

Early in your career, begin the process of building visibility and keeping the door open for important criticism to which you may need to respond in your work. If publication or showing is important in your field, prepare your work for the most respected peer-reviewed journals or galleries. The prestige of the journal or gallery influences the assessment of your scholarly work.

In choosing journals for publication, make conscious decisions about the particular audience you wish your work to reach. Have your manuscript in excellent "shape," in format as well as substance, before submitting it for publication. Be certain it is appropriate for the particular journal to which you wish to send it. It takes time to resubmit an article.

F. Relationship Building: Increasing the Visibility of your Research and Creative Work

a. Within the primary unit

In the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the College of Engineering, the primary unit is the department (e.g., Chemistry, Economics, English, Mathematics, Psychology, Civil Engineering, Computer Science). In the College of Business, the School of Education, and the Graduate School of Public Affairs, the primary unit is the entire college or school. The Auraria Library is a primary unit. The College of Architecture and Planning is a primary unit, with some tasks in the academic review process delegated to the programs.

When the primary unit votes on your reappointment, tenure or promotion, your colleagues' familiarity with you and with your work is vital. This familiarity begins with your professional plan and is based not only on their taking the time to read, view, or listen to your work, but also on their sense of you as lively, responsive, and active in your research or creative work. Colleagues can help you by discussing your ideas with you, encouraging you about what is new enough and valuable enough to write or create, advising on the best journals or competitions, reviewing and criticizing drafts, and suggesting you for important conferences, exhibits, etc. Get to know colleagues in your unit!

You should talk to your chair or other mentor regularly about professional choices, making sure that you know what the criteria for advancement are, what are considered the best refereed journals or galleries, and what is "normal" productivity. Your chair or other mentor will play an important role in monitoring the evaluation process and in interpreting the primary unit vote. You need to keep them informed about your accomplishments and you need their advice in making choices.

b. Within the CU-Denver and University of Colorado community

Your work eventually will be evaluated by colleagues outside your unit. Get to know colleagues in other disciplines and other schools or colleges. Particularly get to know colleagues who engage in research or creative activities related to your own. For an untenured faculty member, primary unit and college/school/Library committee service are important and useful. Work on a Faculty Assembly committee or council is a good way to get to know your colleagues in other parts of CU-Denver. If you have any questions about which service opportunities to select, consult your chair, mentor, or dean for advice. Be careful that committee work does not significantly impact the time you need to devote to your research/creative work.

c. Within a national and international network

Publication or showing in highly regarded journals and galleries is important. Your publishing a critical review of the research literature in your area or of the work of another artist/designer can be helpful. Attendance at conferences and workshops helps you establish contacts. The presentation of papers at conferences generally requires less lead time than journal publication and can help to make your work more widely known. In general, conference papers or presentations are not weighted as heavily in the reappointment, promotion and tenure review process as are publications or showing in refereed journals and galleries, but are still important.

Small professional meetings where you can engage in serious intellectual discussion with colleagues can often be more helpful than larger, more anonymous meetings. You also may want to participate in establishing a national network of colleagues in your area of research interest or creative endeavor, if such a network does not already exist. Planning a conference to be held at CU-Denver or setting up an interest group at a major conference can facilitate the building of such a network.