The fact that outreach work often involves integration, application and teaching does not mean that all outreach work is scholarly. An activity has to have a purpose, achievable objectives and address important issues. Professionals doing outreach work must know the scholarly literature in their field and develop their own skills. Outreach activities must use appropriate methods that would be judged to be effective to address the goals and effectively applied. An outreach scholar needs to critically evaluate and improve his or her work.
Scholarly outreach uses evaluation methods to improve the quality of future work.
April 2001 Boston, MA - Adolescence creates turmoil, not only because of changes in teens but also because parents and communities don't always know how to help. And widely reported professional advice is often contradictory. A new study by the Center for Health Communication at the Harvard School of Public Health cuts through the confusion by finding key messages about raising teenagers on which experts do agree. A Synthesis of Research and a Foundation for Action reviews over 300 recent studies and identifies core actions for parents and caregivers about which there is widespread agreement among researchers and practitioners. Rae Simpson, Ph.D., author of the report and chief consultant to the Center's Parenting Project, examined U.S. studies covering a broad diversity of teen and parent populations.