Exploratory Proposal

This semester, I'd like to begin my exploratory project by puzzling through the following question: What is Industrial and Organizational Psychology  and what might it have to offer Rhetoric and Composition and labor studies in Higher Education?  I hope to at some point get to this question: What from Industrial and Organizational Psychology could be brought into Rhetoric and Composition programs to help resolve some of the conflicts and issues that have arisen due to labor practices?  Might I/O Psychology offer us a solution or part of a solution?

I think a good place to start is by getting to know the field of Industrial and Organizational Psychology better.  I've found a journal put out by the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology.  I might begin there with my researching, looking at titles of articles from the last few years and reading things that sound relevant and interesting.

There's also a book in our library called Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Research and Practice by Paul E Spector (2006).  And there's another one called Historical Perspectives in Industrial and Organizational Psychology by Laura Koppes (2007). It looks like this is a reader which includes some selections about the history of the field as well as persistent themes.

I think this is a good place to start with a journal and two books to work from.  Do you have any further suggestions for me in terms of how to narrow or expand or frame my question or what to look at?