2 Across Applied Divides Great Debates of Applied Communication Scholarship Lawrence R. Frey University of Colorado at Boulder SunWolf Santa Clara University Applied research sets out to contribute to knowledge by answering a real, pragmatic, social question or by solving a real pragmatic, social problem. Applied communica- tion research involves such a question or problem of human communication or exam- ines human communication in order to provide an answer or solution to the question or problem. The intent or goal of the inquiry (as manifest in the research report itself) is the hallmark of applied communication research. Applied communication research involves the development of knowledge regarding a real human communica- tion problem or question. (Cissna, 1982, p. iv) Applied communication scholarship, as this handbook demonstrates, is a well-respected intellectual pursuit that spans (and even pervades) every area of the communication dis- cipline, as attested to, for instance, by the use of the word applied in the titles of recent books on such diverse topics as communication studies (Bollinger, 2005), nonverbal com- munication (Riggio & Feldman, 2005), interpersonal communication (Buzzanell, Sterk, & Turner, 2004; Dailey & Le Poire, 2006; Motley, 2008), organizational communication and public relations (Fine & Schwandt, 2008; Harris & Nelson, 2008; Lamb & McKee, 2005; Oliver, 2004; Veech, 2002), health communication (e.g., Wright & Moore, 2007), intercultural communication (Shari ian & Palmer 2007), performance studies and the- ater (Nicholson, 2005; Prentki & Preston, 2008), media studies (Rosenberry & Vicker, 2008, Zettl, 2008), and even communication research methods (Buddenbaum & Novak, 2001). Cissna, Eadie, and Hickson’s (this volume) historical overview documented how this form of scholarship became institutionalized in the communication discipline. The institutionalization of applied communication scholarship, however, did not come with- out costs; many great debates, heated arguments, and growing pains occurred along the way, as well as, more recently, nuanced issues and concerns that emerged once the legiti- macy of this research had been established. This chapter provides an intellectual history of some great debates about deep divides characterizing the development of applied communication scholarship. These develop- mental growing pains include moving from applied communication and organizational communication consulting to applied communication research; deconstructing the basic- applied research dichotomy to link communication theory and application; employing the wide range of available methodologies to produce both rigorous and relevant applied communication scholarship; and, most recently, recognizing the continuum of, but also the chasm between, observational and intervention-oriented applied communication scholarship (see Figure 2.1). 26 Frey_C002.indd 26 Frey_C002.indd 26 3/9/2009 6:00:24 PM 3/9/2009 6:00:24 PM