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Man, Woman, Engineer, Psychologist: Mixed Messages in Research Design

Francis J. Hopcroft, P.E., LSP, Barbara A. Karanian, Ph.D. Wentworth Institute of Technology Boston, MA 02115

Abstract - Several years ago an off-hand remark by Professor Karanian, a Psychologist, during a casual conversation with Professor Hopcroft, an Engineer, led to a decision to jointly research the way men and women respond to technical presentations with which they disagree. A working hypothesis was developed, after some discussion about the meaning of the words in the title, and a conceptual plan of study was defined. The plan of study fundamentally involved observing men and women responding to presentations at technical conferences and recording those observations in a standardized format. This paper addresses the communication and procedural difficulties that arose as the two professionals, each competent in their own area of expertise, tried to meld two very different approaches to research into a successful research effort.

I. Introduction

Teaching engineering students on a campus that encourages collaboration across departments opened a door to understanding the different ways engineers and psychologists think and behave. Working with professors across disciplines and with industry consultants expanded that understanding further. An attempt at a research collaboration between an engineering professor and a psychology professor highlighted these differences. Questions emerged, however, that strained the professors’ ability to agree on the research design and complete the study.

They responded to the challenges during the collaboration by changing the research design, re- defining the variables, and shifting the procedure for data collection. Despite these creative efforts, and extensive communication between the two professors, the research study was not completed. Both expressed some frustration with the situation and raised questions about mixed- messages in research design.

Understanding of their differences begins in a discussion of methodology, incorporates communication, and ends in culture. The primary objective of the work shifted from successfully completing the original research study to the much more difficult topic of interdisciplinary and cross-gender collaboration. The new focus is designed to facilitate the formulation of a plan that examines key issues that impact successful collaboration. The fact that gender is also a variable presents intriguing and only sometimes predictable influences on the working relationship. This paper provides an informal and descriptive framework for conceptualizing the collaborative research effort by considering expectations for successful project completion, and implications for further study.

II. Overview of Themes

This paper began with some hunches about the effects that profession has on academic or industry collaboration. Consistent attempts to develop appropriate research instruments

“Proceedings of the 2002 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright © 2002, American Society for Engineering Education”

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Hopcroft, F. (2002, June), Man, Woman, Engineer, Psychologist: Mixed Messages In Research Design Paper presented at 2002 Annual Conference, Montreal, Canada. 10.18260/1-2--10449