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Best Practices
Why Best Practices Many of the concepts in Etheric Studies are shared by various religions. There are also many things about the etheric that are held to be true out of tradition, but that have not been experimentally demonstrated. This poses the difficulty of knowing what is based on tradition and what is supported by experimental evidence or well-established, effective methodology. The use of Best Practices is an attempt to identify what works and what is problematic; what is substantiated by evidence and what is merely supposed.
If a person studying trans-etheric influences follows applicable Best Practices, the results can be described as being “standardized” by those practices. This means that anyone studying the results of such work will know what measures have been taken to avoid known pitfalls, and therefore will have a better understanding of the results. This also means that the practitioner will more likely avoid operational errors that might not be obvious without extensive trial and error. For instance, a person might report the recording of an EVP that, when measured against applicable Best Practices, would indicate the possibility of a stray radio signal. The simple recommendation that a person recording for EVP in the field should identify in the recording each change in location is considered a Best Practice.
Some organizations have included in their charter the requirement to teach members the techniques for working in that field of study. For instance, the ATransC attempts to teach about EVP, its nature and the best ways to record for voices. Other organizations include dependable methodologies for organizing a field investigation, as well as how to use the associated investigative tools and how to report the results. Experienced circle leaders have documented techniques for sitting for phenomena. Too often, the teaching of these lessons depends on local traditions or the opinion of individual teachers. Best Practices does not presuppose that any method of teaching is wrong, rather, that certain methods and procedures have been shown to be effective. By first soliciting input from the various teachers, and then incorporating the identified Best Practices into lesson plans, it is felt that teachers can move the burden of “being right” to the community. One might say, “Do it this way because it is a well documented technique, not do it this way because it is the way I do it.”
Scope Best Practices are concerned with methods and procedures only. These are sometimes referred to as “techniques.” They are not rules, but may be referred to as “rules of thumb” or any similar phrase indicating common practice; they should never be required.
A person reporting the results of an activity concerned with the study of trans-etheric phenomena can be expected to identify whether or not Best Practices have been followed. A person claiming to be qualified in some aspect of Etheric Studies, such as recording for EVP, should be aware of the applicable Best Practices, but is not required to follow them. Anyone conducting research into some aspect of Etheric Studies, intending to submit a report for publication in the online ATransC Journal or the ATransC NewsJournal, should be aware of the applicable Best Practices and should apply them except in the area of the research objective. For instance, for a study of the effectiveness of an audio filtering technique, Best Practices should be followed for the recording sessions and the determination of what was said, but should not be applied to the analysis phase.
Best Practices are living documents Some remain to be defined and all are subject to review and revision.
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