Vandekerckhove, Wim; Brown, A.J.; Moberly, Richard; Lewis, David --- "Strategic issues in whistleblowing research" [2014] ELECD 628; in Brown, J. A.; Lewis, David; Moberly, E. Richard; Vandekerckhove, Wim (eds), "International Handbook on Whistleblowing Research" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2014) 522

Book Title: International Handbook on Whistleblowing Research

Editor(s): Brown, J. A.; Lewis, David; Moberly, E. Richard; Vandekerckhove, Wim

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781781006788

Section: Chapter 21

Section Title: Strategic issues in whistleblowing research

Author(s): Vandekerckhove, Wim; Brown, A.J.; Moberly, Richard; Lewis, David

Number of pages: 9

Abstract/Description:

Our plan for this research handbook was always to provide researchers and policy makers with a comprehensive overview of existing knowledge, but also to discuss what further and new research is needed to inform decision-making about whistleblowing around the world. Accordingly, when we invited our contributors into the project, we did so with the intention of presenting these stocktakes and analyses under three parts. In Part I Research Fundamentals, we have assembled chapters on the core topics whose definition and conceptualization is basic to all whistleblowing research, and which remain important to all researchers. Part II Organizational Culture and Responsiveness puts research into its context, dealing with issues of research design and existing evidence. This becomes crucial if applied research is to have validity and relevance, especially as the nature of whistleblowing as an organizational and political process has become more central than the individual characteristics of whistleblowers. In Part III Research in Action, we have assembled chapters that discuss research on the nature and use of policies and legislation to protect whistleblowers, including the major needs, gaps and opportunities that lie at this level of applied research. Each chapter offered a systematic review of how research into a particular aspect of whistleblowing has evolved, as well as the current state of knowledge about it. However, every chapter went beyond presenting the status quo and identified the new research avenues opening up from the recent interplay between research and practice.