Nichols, Lucy

Ben Burke is a PhD student in Human Development and Family Studies at Auburn University and has a Master’s Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy. Ben is one of the longest serving team members on the Military REACH team, and he primarily works on TRIP reports, research reports, and social media posts. A few of Ben’s most notable contributions are 1. Writing over 45 TRIP reports 2. Co-authoring 4/5 research reports 3. Lead author of “A review and application of posttraumatic growth for enhancing the well-being of military service members and their families” 4. Four editorials featured in monthly newsletters a. The importance of credibility in research design, implementation, and evaluation b. Speaking science-ese: Why clear communication is so vital to academic writing c. Sorting through the pile: The helpfulness of theory in research d. The importance of understanding trauma Ben’s colleagues described him as kind and compassionate, humorous, a thoughtful scholar, an encouraging teacher and mentor, and a genuine nerd - always ready to discuss movies or video games. Ben adds incredible value to our team, and we are thankful for the work he does to make research practical and useful to our target audiences. Below Ben discusses his interest in research, his future plans, and video games! 1. Why are you pursuing a PhD in Human Development and Family Studies and what is your end goal/dream job? I am pursuing a degree in HDFS because people are endlessly interesting and I believe that HDFS provides an excellent way to study individuals and families while accounting for important contexts (relationships, environments). My end goal is to work in a university as a teacher and researcher. Teaching is one of my great passions and research allows me the opportunity to continue learning and exploring fascinating topics that can be of help to others. 2. So, you like gaming. What is your favorite part of gaming culture and how does that coincide with your background as a family scholar? How do you bring the two together? What I love most about gaming and gaming culture is a hard thing to narrow down, because there are myriad things I adore about both. I'll focus in on the parts that are related to my work as a scholar studying family and relationships. Gaming is a medium that brings people together, despite the popular narrative that gaming is for the socially stunted. Spending any amount of time in an online multiplayer game or a game streaming website demonstrates how communities are constantly formed and fostered around gaming. I've heard countless stories of friendships that were initiated and maintained through playing games or how parents used games as a way to connect with their children. Additionally, gaming is often used to raise money for charity. Last year, I got to witness gaming communities raise millions of dollars for St. Jude's Children’s Research Hospital, which was an incredibly beautiful experience. Ultimately, when we talk about gaming and gamers, we're talking about people, and this medium can be an incredible tool for beneficial relational connections. 3. What drew you to Military REACH? I was drawn to Military REACH because of Dr. Lucier-Greer. Mallory is a fantastic person and scholar who is doing important research. I have learned a great deal about military families and I believe in the work we do because I believe the end goal of research should be to benefit others. REACH's goal is to put beneficial knowledge into the hands of families, helping professionals, and policy makers and that goal is inherently worthy of pursuit. 4. What has been your favorite project to be a part of while working with Military REACH? My favorite project to work on with Military REACH was the research report on posttraumatic growth. I learned so much about the nature of trauma and the resilience and growth that humans can display in the context of stressful circumstances. It was a privilege to be a part of such an enlightening and encouraging project.

Featured News

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Burke, Benjamin

Imagine it: You are in a foreign country, surrounded by people who speak a different language. You are in a desperate rush to get somewhere; perhaps you’ve gotten lost on your way to a business meeting, or even worse, you need to find a bathroom! The people around you are well-meaning and would be glad to direct you, but you can’t understand a word they are saying! Despite their expertise and good intentions, their knowledge is lost in translation, and you are no closer to being where you want to be. This situation illustrates how knowledge and intent are irrelevant when severe communication barriers exist, which relates to the importance of clear communication in academic writing. Research is an incredibly useful way to understand the world. However, much of the time, the knowledge gained through research is lost in translation to “nonacademic” audiences. People who don’t know technical, scientific jargon can feel like the traveler in the story above when trying to read academic work: lost and confused despite the wealth of knowledge surrounding them. To avoid this confusion, clear communication should be the goal of every piece of academic writing. Therefore, articles reviewed by Military REACH are evaluated not only on scientific credibility and contribution, but also on how well the article communicates the topic or idea. The communicative aspect of an article is assessed by examining its coherence, understandability, and readability. First, an article is evaluated for coherence; in other words, how well it fits into the whole of scientific knowledge on the subject. Think of this like referencing a map in a mall: these maps have store locations, as a well as a “You are here” marker, to let you know your current position. Coherence is like the “You are here” dot on the map – it tells what is already known, what has yet to be discovered, and where the researcher is going next. The most coherent articles include information on previous research, as well as theoretical viewpoints, to help organize current knowledge on the topic of interest. Next, articles are examined for understandability. Put simply, how clearly and consistently are the authors using scientific or theoretical terms? Often, scientific findings and theories come with their own “jargon;” they may use language in non-typical ways or have specific meanings for certain concepts. The most understandable articles carefully define concepts and terms, providing concrete examples so that their readers can make mental connections to their own knowledge base. Finally, articles are evaluated on readability, which refers to clear, concise, and logically organized writing. Though this sounds simple and obvious, it may be the most difficult goal to achieve in academic writing. The most readable articles are clear by striking the right balance between scientific terms and plain language. If the article is too formal, people will have difficulty understanding it; if too informal, people will not take it seriously as a scientific work. Additionally, the bestwritten articles are concise, not using any more words than necessary to make their point while adequately providing context. Finally, the most readable articles have a logical flow to their content. The “story” of the paper is present, and the sections lead into one another with clear transitions. In this regard, writing an excellent scholarly work is an art form and difficult to accomplish. Though the Military REACH team places a high priority on scientific credibility (see more detail on this in the November 2018 newsletter) and contribution (see the January 2019 newsletter), the communicative nature of an article may be the most important piece for evaluation. Like the traveler in the story above, our audiences are not benefited by information that may as well be in a foreign language to them. Scientific writings are often criticized for being behind a knowledge wall, inaccessible to those who have not received extensive training in “science-ese.” It is vital that scientific writing be clearly communicated; otherwise, the findings could be the most helpful contribution that non-academic audiences will never hear.

Family Story

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