Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Survey Research: Useful, Valuable Findings Require Hard Work, Kristin Hoffmann, Selinda Berg

Western Libraries Publications

Gathering data using a survey is often perceived by practitioner-researchers as one of the easiest ways to carry out research; however, a well-constructed survey can be difficult to develop. Librarian practitioner-researchers often use surveys as an economical and easy way to capture information from a wide swath of people. Once the information is gathered, however, the application and usability of the data is often limited and can fall short of the standards of scholarship. Librarian practitioner-researchers may also default to a survey when it is not the most effective tool for data gathering. But when surveys are designed well and …

Conceptions Of Research Among Academic Librarians And Archivists, Lise Doucette, Kristin Hoffmann

Western Libraries Publications

Academic librarians and archivists occupy a unique role as researchers and as practitioners who support faculty and student researchers. However, the ways in which librarians and archivists think about research is largely unexamined, while faculty conceptions of research have been studied extensively. In this study, we analyzed drawings and interviews of 25 Canadian academic librarians and archivists and identified six conceptions of research: research is a shared, community experience; research leads to learning and growth; research is influenced by personal and professional experience; research is a process involving interrelated components; research involves refining and answering a question; research by librarians …

Identifying Research Support Needs Of Members Of The Canadian Health Libraries Association / Association Des Bibliothèques De La Santé Du Canada, Sandy Campbell, Kelly Hatch, Nazi Torabi

Western Libraries Publications

Introduction: The CHLA/ABSC Special Committee on Research undertook this project to identify potential ways in which the Association could support its members in undertaking research. The goal was to inform future CHLA/ABSC research-related service and program offerings. A literature review revealed limited publication related to health librarians' research needs. Method: The Committee developed and distributed an online survey to CHLA/ABSC’s membership. The questions related to demographics, previous research engagement or experience, current research support, work-related research requirements and expectations, barriers and enablers for conducting research, desired research support (topic and format) from CHLA/ABSC, and types of programs that would benefit …

Changing Chance Encounters: Historians, Serendipity, And The Digital Text, Kim Martin, Anabel Quan-Haase

FIMS Publications

Twenty academic historians in Southern Ontario were interviewed about their use of e-books and the role of serendipity in their research. A central theme that surfaced from the grounded theory analysis was that their use of digital tools and texts is limiting their opportunity for a chance encounter with information.

A “Partnership” For The Professional Development Of Librarian Researchers, Brian C. Mcmillan, Pamela Carson

Western Libraries Publications

In this article the authors introduce the Librarians’ Research Partnership (LRP), founded in 2013, at McGill and Concordia University Libraries. The Partnership was inspired by the Canadian Association of Research Libraries’ Librarians’ Research Institute (CARL LRI) which was attended by three of the authors in 2012 and is described here from the point of view of the participants. The authors touch upon the research culture at McGill and Concordia Libraries and discuss barriers and supports for research as prominent themes in the literature on the research role of Canadian academic librarians. The formation of the LRP and the eight subsequent …

Examining Success: Identifying Factors That Contribute To Research Productivity Across Librarianship And Other Disciplines, Kristin Hoffmann, Selinda Adelle Berg, Denise Koufogiannakis

Western Libraries Publications

While some academic librarians have embraced the role of researcher and have successfully become active researchers and authors, others have struggled to be productive in this aspect of their responsibilities. A content analysis of literature on research productivity for librarians and non-librarians was conducted in order to identify factors that have been found to affect research success. This content analysis is part of a larger study designed to develop an instrument to measure the impact of key factors on librarians' success in research. This analysis reinforces the need to identify and study those factors that are truly antecedents for librarians’ …

Informed Instruction: Graduate Students' Information Seeking Behaviour, Kim Mcphee, Marg Sloan

Western Libraries Presentations

This is a research project with these objectives:

• To determine Graduate Students’ information seeking behaviours

• To determine the role people have in Graduate Students’ information seeking, and

• To identify Graduate Student knowledge/opinion of key information resources/services