The ASMC Research Program is conducted under the guidance of the National Research Committee (NRC). The NRC has been organized to assist individuals or teams wishing to perform research under the aegis of the ASMC research program. Promotion of the research endeavor is an important role for the local ASMC chapter.
What is the research program? Individuals or teams wishing to conduct research for recognition by the Society are asked to submit a research proposal to the NRC in an appropriate format. Upon receipt, the NRC chairperson appoints a Project Subcommittee, consisting of at least two regular or adjunct members of the NRC. The chairperson of this subcommittee serves as the researcher's mentor and point of contact with the NRC. The subcommittee evaluates the acceptability of the proposed project and provides guidance to the researcher(s) on methodology, content and style of the final written product. The NRC also has designed appropriate formats to assist researchers in preparing their final reports.
Why do research? Research has been defined as the systematic quest for undiscovered truth. The conduct of research requires both personal dedication and the repeated stimulation or even recruitment of researchers. This best is accomplished at the local chapter level. A vigorous program will reward productive members, provide a drawing card for potential members, contribute a stimulating set of chapter activities for the program year, and help meet the requirements of various professional certification and continuing education programs.
The role of the Chapter Research Chairperson is to integrate the three elements of research: The Problem, The Problem Solvers and The Research Plan. To assure success, the chapter board should select a person who is both knowledgeable of the research program and able to obtain and motivate researchers throughout the year. To ensure that a productive program emerges, the chairperson also should have good organizational skills and the ability to set and achieve milestones.
The goal of recognition is to encourage the conduct and appropriate presentation of research that enhances the body of knowledge in one or more of the comptrollership disciplines. To qualify for recognition, research projects should be of general interest to the military comptrollership community. Research on a subject unique to one DoD Component or activity may qualify but, again, it should expand upon the body of knowledge of military comptrollership. Thus, a study of avionics design would not be appropriate, but a study that analyzes cost growth for avionics and projects costs to future designs would be acceptable if adequately documented. To ensure that the researcher is on the right track, the Chapter Research Committee may forward the chosen topic to the NRC for review and approval. With respect to content, research papers should include a hypothesis with supporting field study, analysis of questionnaire results, replication of prior experiments, etc., to confirm or refute that hypothesis.
Research awards recognize individual or team efforts resulting in a specific written product that encapsulates the research effort, findings and recommendations. Recognition is made in two ways: (1) award(s) to researcher(s) of any completed reports deemed to be significant or singularly outstanding and (2) publication of worthy reports in the Armed Forces Comptroller. In addition, chapters that sponsor research efforts benefit under the Chapter Competition Program.