Is research with qualitative data more prevalent and impactful now? Interviews,case studies,focus groups and ethnographies

With qualitative research apparently threatened by big data, researchers, editors, educators, librarians, and publishers need to understand the mix of research methods used in their field to guide decision making. In response, this study assesses the prevalence and citation impact of academic research between 1996 and 2019 that reports one of four common methods to gather qualitative data: interviews, focus groups, case studies, and ethnography. With minor exceptions, the prevalence of qualitative data has increased, often substantially, since 1996. In addition, all 27 broad fields (as classified by Scopus) now publish some qualitative research, with interviewing being by far the most common approach. The citation impact of interview and focus group research mostly decreased over time, whereas of case study citation impact increased, and ethnography was above average in its two core subject areas. This suggests that methods teachers, researchers, editors, librarians, and publishers should be increasingly open to the value of qualitative data.     

Ontology,Epistemology, Methodology,and Methods: Information for Librarian Researchers

Abstract

This article will help librarians understand how different philosophical stances influence the process of developing a research question and the different methodologies and methods available to help answer that question. Understanding this will help librarian researchers make appropriate choices regarding methods and methodology for the research questions they are seeking to answer. Also included is a table showing the two main types of inquiry (qualitative and quantitative) with their associated methodologies and methods, the basic assumptions underlying each, and the pros and cons of each methodology.     

Academic Librarians' Varying Experiences of Archives: A Phenomenographic Study

This article reports on a study investigating academic librarians' varying experiences of archives in order to promote understanding and communication among librarians and archivists. A qualitative, phenomenographic approach was adopted for the study. Three different ways of experiencing archives were identified from analysis of interviews. Archives may be experienced by academic librarians as 1) a place which protects collections; 2) resources to be used in accomplishing tasks such as teaching, research, or outreach; or 3) manifestations of politics. The third way of experiencing archives is the most complex, incorporating both the other experiences. The results of this study may help librarians, especially academic librarians, and archivists communicate more clearly on joint projects involving archival collections thereby enabling more collaboration.     

Evolving educational objectives of library schools

Library school objectives are characterized in terms of research, teaching, and student recruitment. The absence of a theoretical framework for much of what is being taught, the small amount of research in library schools, and the shortage of library school teachers are cited as major problems of library schools. Increased interest in the problems of librarianship by researchers in other areas, higher salaries for library school teachers and beginning librarians, and increased financial support for research and scholarships are given as encouraging signs of progress toward the solution of these problems.     

Learning how to teach unfamiliar subjects: developing training on writing for publication and presentation of research for health libraries

Academic librarians with teaching responsibility have traditionally delivered training in discovering and organising information. However, in recent years, there has been an increased emphasis on supporting researchers through all stages of the research lifecycle. While librarians are ideally placed to provide training in writing for publication and presentation of research, very few in the United Kingdom appear to be doing so. However, there are clear benefits to teaching these subjects. Based on feedback from faculty on user needs, the University of Cambridge Medical Library’s training programme was expanded to include training and support in the publication and presentation of research outputs. This article recounts the process by which the new courses were developed, and the techniques used by the library’s teaching staff to gain understanding of conventions and requirements of forms of written communication with which they were unfamiliar. It also evaluates the impact of the new courses, discusses next steps and provides advice for other librarians wishing to develop similar courses. D.I.     

An Annotated Bibliography of State Legal Research Guides

Most legal researchers are familiar with federal sources and materials for their own state. Law librarians, attorneys, and other researchers find state legal research guides are extremely valuable when addressing out-of-state law. These guides, in the form of treatises, periodical articles, or short monographs, also introduce the inexperienced researcher to state legal research. Though several bibliographies of state research guides are available, none provide evaluative annotations for all types of guides. This annotated bibliography is intended to benefit legal researchers of all types as well as collection development librarians in major law libraries.     

What's Theory Got to Do with It? Applying Educational Theory and Research to Revamp Freshman Library Workshops

Although librarians’ increasingly important role as teachers is among the most significant shifts and trends that have been reshaping academic libraries over the past few decades, most academic librarians have not received formal training in pedagogy and teaching. The authors describe how becoming familiar with educational theory and research enabled them to revamp freshmen library workshops. They provide a theoretical overview and present practical classroom applications of learning styles theory, active learning techniques, learning by analogies, collaborative learning, and group work. Learning theories and educational research findings, the authors suggest, can be readily translated into practice and inform the teaching of information literacy to freshmen.     

Leadership competencies and the importance of research methods and statistical analysis in decision making and research and publication: A study of citation patterns

The roles of academic librarians and administrators include the use of statistical analysis and general analytical abilities in their decision-making processes, as well as in their roles as researchers, in developing research collections, and in providing instruction and reference assistance for students and other researchers. The research presented in this article addresses the original research published in frequently cited library and information science (LIS) journals to consider the extent to which academic librarians and administrators conduct and publish original research and to evaluate the range of research methodologies used and the level of collaboration among academic librarians, LIS faculty members, and others. The research results extend the prior self-report research in this area and indicate that academic librarians, administrators, and LIS faculty are authors of most of the published research in highly ranked journals. The level of collaboration among those in different types of roles is limited, however. In addition, most of the research articles have been authored or coauthored by those in research university libraries.     

How academic librarians involve and contribute in research activities of universities? A systematic demonstration in practice through comparative studies of research productivities and research impacts

Participating in research and teaching activities of universities, and then providing valuable information and policy suggestions are an important task of academic librarians. This paper demonstrates systematically in practice that how academic librarians can involve and contribute in the research activities of universities. Our demonstration is launched through comparative studies of research productivities and research impacts among universities. These universities are divided into two counterparts. One is the Chinese universities which aim to construct the world-class mathematics discipline, and the other is the university which already owns the world-class mathematics discipline. During these comparative studies, we demonstrate in practice that how to seek the research question, how to collect and process the data, how to design the research methods, how to analyze the data, and how to propose policy suggestions. Contributions of this paper are twofold. The first aspect is a systematic demonstration in practice. This demonstration shows to academic librarians that how to involve and contribute in the research activities of universities. The academic librarianship thus can be strengthened, as it provides a way for us academic librarians to promote our roles in teaching and research activities of universities. The second aspect is to gain insights in the research productivities and research impacts of Chinese universities which aim to construct the world-class mathematics discipline. During this process, we design a bibliometric indicator for evaluating the research impacts of universities based on academic papers, launch comparative studies with the university that already owns the world-class mathematics discipline, and propose policy suggestions for China to scientifically achieve its goal. This also provides references for other countries to launch similar studies.     

Research Goes Digital: Some Methods,Frameworks, and Issues

Traditionally, librarians take a role in connecting researchers with resources. With the advent of the digital age, the nature of research is expanding; there are more, and different, sources of data, ways of collecting data, and methods of analyzing and interacting with data. If librarians are to remain relevant and able to serve their patrons, then they must engage in research as guides or even as partners in the research process. To do this, it is critical that librarians gain an understanding of the nature of research in the digital age and of the frameworks, methodologies, and issues related to digital research. The purpose of this article is to contribute to literature on digital research as it relates to librarianship.     

Developing evidence-based librarianship: practical steps for implementation

Evidence-based librarianship (EBL) is a relatively new concept for librarians. This paper lays out a practical framework for the implementation of EBL. A new way of thinking about research in librarianship is introduced using the well-built question process and the assignment of librarian research questions to one of six domains specific to librarianship. As a profession, librarianship tends to reflect more qualitative, social sciences/humanities in its research methods and study types which tend to be less rigorous and more prone to bias. Randomised controlled trials (RCT) do not have to be placed at the top of an evidence 'hierarchy' for librarianship. Instead, a more encompassing model reflecting librarianship as a whole and the kind of research likely to be done by librarians is proposed. 'Evidence' from a number of disciplines including health sciences, business and education can be utilized by librarians and applied to their practice. However, access to and availability of librarianship literature needs to be further studied. While using other disciplines (e.g. EBHC) as a model for EBL has been explored in the literature, the authors develop models unique to librarianship. While research has always been a minor focus in the profession, moving research into practice is becoming more important and librarians need to consider the issues surrounding research in order to move EBL forward.     

The Systematic Review Team: Contributions of the Health Sciences Librarian

While the role of the librarian as an expert searcher in the systematic review process is widely recognized, librarians also can be enlisted to help systematic review teams with other challenges. This article reviews the contributions of librarians to systematic reviews, including communicating methods of the review process, collaboratively formulating the research question and exclusion criteria, formulating the search strategy on a variety of databases, documenting the searches, record keeping, and writing the search methodology. It also discusses challenges encountered such as irregular timelines, providing education, communication, and learning new technologies for record keeping. Rewards include building relationships with researchers, expanding professional expertise, and receiving recognition for contributions to health care outcomes.     

The systematic review team: contributions of the health sciences librarian

While the role of the librarian as an expert searcher in the systematic review process is widely recognized, librarians also can be enlisted to help systematic review teams with other challenges. This article reviews the contributions of librarians to systematic reviews, including communicating methods of the review process, collaboratively formulating the research question and exclusion criteria, formulating the search strategy on a variety of databases, documenting the searches, record keeping, and writing the search methodology. It also discusses challenges encountered such as irregular timelines, providing education, communication, and learning new technologies for record keeping. Rewards include building relationships with researchers, expanding professional expertise, and receiving recognition for contributions to health care outcomes.     

Institutional repositories (IRs) in universities of Pakistan: Issues and emergent framework for remedies

This paper assesses the issues affecting the development of institutional repositories (IRs) in Pakistan along with presentation of an emergent framework for the development of IRs. The contribution is based on a sequential mixed methods research approach. In first phase the study opted a cross sectional survey with a structured questionnaire followed by a focus group of university librarians in 2nd phase to collect qualitative data on the phenomenon. The study found that IRs was a developing phenomenon at an infancy and did not emerge as a mandatory component of campus infrastructure in universities of Pakistan. Issues of awareness, willingness, motivation, administrative support, skills, finances, and collaboration were identified as major challenges affecting the development of IRs. The study proposed a framework for the development of IRs. The findings of the study have theoretical implications for researchers and practical implications for higher education policy makers, publishers, university administrators, and library administrators. The study may be generalized to other countries with similar economic and social context.     

The Availability and Effectiveness of Research Supports for Early Career Academic Librarians

For many academic librarians, scholarly research is required in order to attain tenure or promotion and it is widely acknowledged that many early career librarians find this process challenging. Using a survey of >200 untenured or recently tenured academic librarians, this study investigates early career academic librarians' access to and experiences with research support activities designed to develop research skills and confidence. Specific attention is paid to informal mentoring, formal mentoring programs, and writing groups. Responses indicate that early career librarians need supports that target three dimensions of the research experience: research design and methods; work practices and accountability; and emotional elements. Despite this, survey respondents had limited access to formal research supports that offer instruction and guidance in the research process, leaving them to rely heavily on informal mentoring. This study highlights the need for libraries and library organizations to invest their resources in research supports for early career academic librarians, helping them to become more effective and confident researchers.     

Barron's Online (barrons.com)

ABSTRACT

In this article Jenkins and Beall, librarians at Auburn University, have identified free Web sites for providing answers to business reference questions most frequently asked in academic libraries. The authors determined these questions by polling other business librarians, researching the topic on the Internet and in business literature, and drawing upon their business reference backgrounds. Web sites were selected by searching the Internet extensively, querying other business librarians and business faculty, combing numerous business academic library Web pages, and experience by the authors in answering business reference questions via the Web. The researchers sought answers and noted productive sites for each question. Jenkins and Beall expect this article will help other librarians determine the most useful Internet sites for answering business reference questions. They also hope this research will provide guidelines for librarians in developing solid lists of essential Web sites for business researchers.     

新世纪台湾地区图书馆职业关怀研究述评

进入新世纪以来,海峡两岸的图书馆学研究者不约而同地采用实证研究方法对图书馆员表达了职业关怀,其中台湾大学的陈书梅女士的研究比较深入、全面。陈女士自2001年起从馆员工作生活品质、馆员负面工作情绪、馆员职业生涯管理、馆领导风格和馆员工作压力等方面进行了持续的研究,为图书馆管理、馆员生涯规划、图书馆学专业教育相关课程的设置都提供了有益的参考。     

Librarian and faculty collaborative instruction: A phenomenological self-study

Several models of librarian and faculty collaboration are found in the professional librarian literature. The literature on collaborative self-study research in university settings suggests collaborative self-study research can improve interdisciplinary and collaborative approaches to teaching and research and facilitate the transfer of knowledge. A research librarian and professor of education conducted a phenomenological self-study to examine their multiple roles as researchers and instructors who collaborated to develop, implement, and evaluate distance-delivered instructional services for public school teachers who live and work in remote, rural, and Alaska Native communities throughout the state of Alaska. Several themes emerged from this phenomenological self-study: (a) our interdisciplinary and collaborative efforts resulted in increased opportunities to team teach and conduct future collaborative research; (b) we struggled to communicate effectively with our students via audio-conference; and (c) our beliefs and practices were transformed by our participation in this phenomenological self-study. We believe our collaborative approach to phenomenological self-study research can promote intense self-reflection, stimulate creativity, and facilitate open and honest communication between academic librarians and teaching faculty who engage in collaborative instruction and collaborative research; furthermore, we believe our collaborative approach to phenomenological self-study research can increase the instructional effectiveness of academic librarians and teaching faculty collaborating to teach in distance-delivered higher education.