Dawn E. Chandler

Transforming Inquiry and Action: Interweaving 27 Flavors of Action Research

This article presents a conceptual typology of 27 different flavors of action research, underpinned by the dimensions of voice, practice, and time. This typology highlights how narrow a segment of reality is examined in most social science studies, as well as how fundamentally different the first- and second-person participatory study of the present and the future is from the third-person detached study of the past. We show that action research has multiple aims, including personal integrity and social mutuality as well as explaining empirical variance in intended outcomes. Far from diluting the positivist concern with validity, however, we argue that action research studies that include a greater proportion of the 27 types of methods are likely to account for more of the empirical variance in situations than do traditional social science studies.

A Review of Developmental Networks: Incorporating a Mutuality Perspective

During the past decade, mentoring research has broadened from its traditional dyadic perspective to examine the support provided by a “developmental network.” This article reviews the literature on developmental networks—groups of people who take an active interest in and action toward advancing a protégé’s career. Building on positive organizational scholarship (POS) research on high-quality connections and relationships, the authors propose that a “mutuality perspective,” or taking the viewpoints of all members of the developmental network into account, is a notable gap in developmental network research. They apply this perspective to developmental networks research and discuss implications and avenues for future inquiry. As part of their review, the authors clarify the boundaries of the developmental network construct. They also identify and discuss four research streams that encompass extant studies of developmental networks. This article extends previous reviews of the broad field of dyadic mentoring by providing the first systematic review of developmental network research.

Diversity and Mentoring in the Workplace: A Conversation with Belle Rose Ragins

Given projected increases in workplace diversity, an understanding of diversity’s intersection with mentoring is a critical topic in the literature. This article involved an interview with Belle Rose Ragins, one of the world’s leading thinkers on diversity and mentoring in the workplace. After providing an overview of Ragins’ key achievements and contributions to the mentoring literature, the article delved into the interview, which involves four parts: (a) Ragins’ education and early influences; (b) her views on the extant literature as well as insights around future areas for inquiry; (c) her current research interests; and (d) her views on consulting and teaching.

The Maven of Mentoring Speaks: Kathy E. Kram Reflects on Her Career and the Field

Mentoring has received significant attention in the management literature for nearly 30 years and has been a practice pervasive in organizational lifelong before its introduction as a phenomenon of study. This interview with Kathy E. Kram assesses her seminal and continued influence on the field. Arguably, no other mentoring scholar has made such indelible marks on the field; Kram laid the foundation with her research in the early 1980s and has since made lasting contributions in the areas of diversity, developmental networks, and alternative relational vehicles. Throughout her career, Kram’s approach to scientific inquiry has been guided by her numerous consulting experiences, which have allowed her to ask questions and provide insights that are relevant to formal mentoring programs and the cultivation of informal relationships. The interview involves a discussion of influences on Kram’s career, the field’s evolution and future, mentoring as a practice, and her current research pursuits.