I would like to announce to all readers a research project for which James Croake and I are soliciting participants/volunteers.

We are hoping that some individuals might participate in a pilot study relating intellectual curiosity to early memories in individuals who teach or do research in a university setting.

We hope to study the individual devoted to intellectual pursuits, to "the life of the mind," the "intellectual," the person who has a drive to understand how things work, at least in some specialized field. We want to study the person who, if not "driven" at least would feel at a loss if he or she had to relinquish his or her intellectual interests. That is, we want to study the person for whom an intellectual devotion is in some sense natural and ingrained. We want to study the person who exercises his or her curiosity. We want to study not what this person thinks, but how he or she thinks. We want to study what has motivated him or her throughout his or her career.

We are looking for individuals of this "style" who have also elected to work (teach and/or do research) within an academic environment. The academic environment offers particular opportunities and resources to develop one's curiosity, as well as offering particular challenges. Although we do not want to study these opportunities and/or challenges, the election of an academic environment within which to work may indicate a specific devotion to or commitment to one's intellectual nature, as well as to opportunities to develop it.

Accordingly, we are searching for individuals who work within academic institutions who probably have a Ph. D. in their field, and who will self-define themselves as one of the people we wish to study. This self-definition will be the initial part of the questionnaire we will send to those willing to participate. These individuals will also define their own successes or satisfactions in their area of endeavour. We do not define these individuals in terms of their awards or publications. Although they may have obtained awards and have publications, the individuals whom we are seeking will define their successes and satisfactions in other ways.

Initially, we would send interested individuals a questionnaire that may take several hours to complete. Once returned to us, we would have other questions that we would present to the individual by email. In anything we write, complete anonymity will be observed. As well, if at any time an individual wishes to withdraw from the study, only one question will be asked: “Would you mind explaining why?”

We are also interested in presenting this proposal to individuals in a variety of fields. If you know others who might be interested, no matter what their field of study, we would appreciate your forwarding this letter to them.

Please address any questions you may have to either of us.
Thanks for reading this lengthy letter.

Sincerely,

Steve Slavik
229 West Queens Road
North Vancouver, BC Canada V7N 2K6

[email protected]


James Croake
Department of Psychiatry
University of South Alabama
Mobile, Alabama

[email protected]