Researchers and Practitioners in Nonprofit Organization and Voluntary Action: Applying Research to Practice?

Abstract

Based on a survey of the professed needs of a large sample of volunteer administrators for research and a comprehensive analysis of the topics addressed over an extended period in a leading journal on voluntarism, this article examines the correspondence between the preferences of one group of practitioners and the interests of researchers in voluntarism. The analysis shows that the relationship between the needs of these practitioners and the publication interests of the researchers is neither as tenuous as some would fear nor as strong as others would like. If increas ing the relevance of the research literature for volunteer administrators is a priority, several means lie well within reach to forge firmer ties to the practitioner community.