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Hazel Hall's presentation to the University of Ulster, 13th March 2013
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Leadership in libraries: tying Library and
Information Science research to practice
Presentation to the Institute for Research in Social
Sciences, University of Ulster
Wednesday 13th March 2013
Professor Hazel Hall
www.napier.ac.uk/iidi
Welcome to this evening’s presentation
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Professor Hazel Hall
@hazelh
http://hazelhall.org
http://about.me/hazelh
0131 455 2760
Slides on SlideShare at:
http://slideshare.net/hazelhall
www.napier.ac.uk/iidi
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Hazel Hall@hazelh
Event hashtag#hhulster
www.napier.ac.uk/iidi
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Library Assistant LIS student Assistant Librarian Academic
“Real world” experience: KPMG 1999-2001; TFPL 2006; LIS Research Coalition 2009/12
www.napier.ac.uk/iidi
Work of the Centre for Social Informatics
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CPD
Knowledge management
Library and Information Science, e.g. research resources for LIS
Social media strategies with focus on knowledge management, risk management and engagement strategies
…
Research – research councils, EuropeE-participationE-governanceInformation SocietyLibrary and Information Science, e.g. AHRCSmart cities…
Research: contract, consultancy, “other” Knowledge managementLibrary and Information Science e.g. CILIPMarket researchOnline communitiesProject managementSocial computingSociotechnical project evaluation…
One of five research centre within IIDI
Distributed Computing, Networking & Security
Emergent Computing
Information & Software Systems
Interaction Design
Social Informatics: exploring human-technology relationships in context, and their impact, e.g. on organisations, communities
www.napier.ac.uk/iidi
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To facilitate a co-ordinated and strategic approach to LIS research across the UK (2009-2012)
To develop a UK-wide network of LIS researchers (2011-2012)
To explore the extent to which LIS research projects influence practice (2011)
To create outputs to support the use and execution of research by librarians and information scientists (2012)
Thank you!
Nigel McCartney
Biddy Fisher
Mel Collier
Stephanie Kenna
www.napier.ac.uk/iidi
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Impact of the investment
LIS research on the agenda, e.g. CILIP’s PKSB
LIRG reinvigorated
Increased research capacity, particularly amongst DREaM cadre
New approaches to supporting LIS at “industry” level - Coalition
New approaches to delivering support, e.g. DREaM infrastructure
Popularising new approaches, e.g. One Minute Madness
Export to other subject domains
www.napier.ac.uk/iidi
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http://lisresearch.org
http://lisresearch.org/dream http://lisresearch.org/rilies
www.napier.ac.uk/iidi
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@LISResearch
www.napier.ac.uk/iidi
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Impact of the investment
LIS research on the agenda, e.g. CILIP’s PKSB
LIRG reinvigorated
Increased research capacity, particularly amongst DREaM cadre
New approaches to supporting LIS at “industry” level - Coalition
New approaches to delivering support, e.g. DREaM infrastructure
Popularising new approaches, e.g. One Minute Madness
Export to other subject domains
I am here tonight!
www.napier.ac.uk/iidi
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Previous work
New workCollect data
Establish an understanding of the research context
Identify an opportunity to make a contribution
Determine a research approach
Analyse data
Relate findings to research context
Published research adds to research
context
Need for an appreciation of: range of available methods/tools; dissemination channels; means of ensuring that research output has impact, e.g. for policy development.
Need for an appreciation of what has already been done in the domain in order to identify (1) appropriate research aims and questions and (2) methods to be deployed.
Published research directs future effort
Leadership important to
LIS researchers &
practitioner researchers
www.napier.ac.uk/iidi
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Previous work
New workCollect data
Establish an understanding of the research context
Identify an opportunity to make a contribution
Determine a research approach
Analyse data
Relate findings to research context
Published research adds to research
contextNeed for an appreciation of research methods in order to evaluate findings reported in the literature.
Need for an appreciation of what has already been done in the domain in order to identify possible practice.
Published research directs future effort
Leadership important to
practitioners as
consumers of research
www.napier.ac.uk/iidi
Importance of research-led practice
To exploit existing knowledge base for services (outcomes) improvement improve decision making for services delivery
To enhance the value of prior work – to capitalise on significant investment in previous studies, to raise the value of previous studies through reuse
To demonstrate the value and impact of service delivery
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… reduced anti-social behaviour
…contributed to improvements in pupils’ exam results
…attracted international student fee income
… raised research assessment ratings
… increased literacy levels
www.napier.ac.uk/iidi
Barriers to research-led practice: “evaluation by-pass” (Booth, 2006)
Valuable research work is often not published at all
Multidisciplinary nature of the LIS literature, across publications of various domains, makes it difficult to access
Much valuable research is held in grey sources: straightforward access not always obvious, e.g. unpublished internal studies, summaries on listservs
There is a preference amongst practitioners for face-to-face dissemination channels - tailored, lowered incidence of information overload, addresses issues of fragmented infrastructures – but opportunities to attend professional events are few
Some practitioners suffer restricted access to social media channels – valued for immediacy, updates on on-going projects
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And what about practitioner-led research (as opposed to research-led practice)?
Irony of librarians helping others identify evidence to support their practice, but less likely to do for themselves
Few LIS practitioners publish research in international peer-reviewed journals – except North American librarians seeking tenure
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Time constraints of the practitioner role
Limited knowledge of research approaches
Low internal support of research activity
Poor access to external support of research activity, e.g. funding, mentors
Failure to recognise research of others and own research activity/skills as such
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Attribution problems of mediated research
Original sources of mediated research often not obvious, e.g. when it contributes to training material
There is a cumulative and indirect effect of exposure to research output – RiLIES1 identification of “impactful” research projects
Attribution of cause and effect is not always accurate or obvious – in LIS, and in other domains
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www.napier.ac.uk/iidi
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Alios Alzheimer was not the first to identify Alzheimer’s disease in 1906
Arabic numerals are Indian
Halley’s comet was not discovered by Halley in C18th, but by astronomers in 210BC
Pythagoras’ theorum really belongs to a bunch of Babylonian mathematicians
… and Stigler’s law should really be attributed to Robert K Merton!
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Addressing the issues: project conception
Researchers should involve practitioners in research design
Funders should support research that is relevant to the needs of the practitioner community and – allied to this – an explicit goal of research should be to influence practice
Research undertaken should have high level support: steering committees, influential stakeholders
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www.napier.ac.uk/iidi
Addressing the issues: project execution
Practitioners should be invited to participate in the research from the outset, e.g. capacity building workshops as hook
Information about the project should be disseminated throughout its duration (and not just at the end)
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www.napier.ac.uk/iidi
Addressing the issues: project reporting
Output is best “digested” by practitioners in teaching and community support materials
Recommendations should be made explicit – data should not be left to “speak for themselves”
Opportunities for face-to-face delivery should be sought
Textual sources need to be presented in accessible language
Report in the “right” places: professional journals, open access, tweet and blog, use key researcher connectors
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www.napier.ac.uk/iidi
Advice for practitioner consumers of research
Focus on developing critical appreciation of research output
Volunteer to take part in the projects of others, e.g. offer case study, answer surveys, join focus groups etc.
Keep up to date using feeds (including @LISresearch)
Use the resources at http://lisresearch.org
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www.napier.ac.uk/iidi
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Advice for budding practitioner-researchers
Participate in the research of others
Become active in the practitioner-researcher community: join LIRG, attend events, develop online profile as a practitioner-researcher
Garner support for your research efforts, both internally and externally
Look out for opportunities offered through grants and awards, e.g. John Campbell Trust, SLA, UKeIG, CILIP – see also http://hazelhall.org/2013/02/12/winning-ways-apply-for-that-award/
Use DREaM project and RiLIES2 resources
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www.napier.ac.uk/iidi
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Leaders
Support your subject domain
Mentor and reverse mentor
Consider research as part of staff’s job description – it’s in the PKSB
Facilitate staff needs to network - both face-to-face and online - so that they can stay up to date
Share contacts for high profile, prestigious project partnerships
Act as research role models, especially given your power to influence (follow Annie Mauger’s example)
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www.napier.ac.uk/iidi
EVERYONE!
Derive value from three years of targeted investment
Tie library and information science research to practice
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Reference
Booth, A. (2006). Clear and present questions: formulating questions for evidence based practice. Library Hi Tech, 24(3), 355-368.
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Photo credits
All thing bright and twittery (9 July 2011) by SimonJordan. Available from My world in photos: http://www.blipfoto.com/entry/1266216, accessed 14 March 2013. [Slide 3]
Mind the gap (26 November 2006) by Luigi Rosa. Available from http://www.flickr.com/photos/30571787@N00/307814064, accessed 14 March 2013. [Slide 17]
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Leadership in libraries: tying Library and
Information Science research to practice
Presentation to the Institute for Research in Social
Sciences, University of Ulster
Wednesday 13th March 2013
Professor Hazel Hall
