This figure illustrates the Canadian Institutes of Health Research’s conceptual diagram of research cycle and where 6 KT strategies could occur within the cycle. Descriptions of the 6 KT strategies are superimposed on the diagram for ease in referencing what they are.
The research cycle consists of several components. The first four components are connected horizontally through arrows leading from one to the next in the following orders: researchers/knowledge users, research questions & methods, research findings, and global knowledge. The global knowledge is connected to two parts: the contextualization of knowledge that leads to the application of knowledge that creates impacts, and to publication. Both parts connect back to researchers/knowledge users component to form a complete cycle. The cycle represents an ongoing feedback from the dissemination and use of research knowledge to the creation of research knowledge.
Six KT strategies are embedded into the research cycle to demonstrate that KT could occur at several junctions within the cycle. A description of each KT strategy is superimposed onto the diagram for ease in referencing. The descriptions of KT strategies, and where they could occur within the research cycle, are provided below.
KT1: Defining research questions and method, occurs at the connection between researcher/knowledge users and questions & methods components.
KT2: Conducting research (participatory), occurs during the transition from questions & methods to research findings.
KT3: Publishing in plain language and accessible formats, occurs during the transition from global knowledge to publication.
KT4: Placing research findings in the context of other knowledge and sociocultural norms, occurs during the transition from global knowledge to contextualization of knowledge.
KT5: Making decision and taking actions informed by research findings, occurs during the transition from contextualization of knowledge to application of knowledge.
KT6: Influencing subsequent rounds of research based on the impacts of knowledge use, occurs at the connection from impacts back to researchers/knowledge users.