Working Together: Bridging The Researcher-Practitioner Gap.

In this article we share our professional experiences in bridging the gap between research and practice. These experiences are discussed from the standpoint of the roles of consulting analyst and conciliator. Five research-practice areas are viewed through the lens of the former role: alliance dynamics, issue re-framing, sources of conflict, procedural justice, and turning points. Three areas are discussed from the latter perspective: goals and motivations, cognitive and motivational biases, and relationship development. Each theme is organized into three parts that illuminate the value of research knowledge for practices at both a macro and micro level of analysis: research related to the theme, the type of assignment and the practical applications related to that assignment, and lessons learned for practice. Implications of this type of career for our view of social science are developed in a final section along with suggestions for graduate education.