Transcript Practitioner Research in the Library Literature How Are

Practitioner Research in the Library Literature
How Are They Going About it?
Charles R. Hildreth, Ph.D.
Director, Doctoral Program
College of Information & Computer Science
Long Island University/C.W. Post Campus
ALISE Conference
January 22. 2003
Hildreth: LIS Research
Library Research Seminar II
University of Maryland
November 2-3, 2001
“Partners & Connections: Research Applied
to Practice”
Hildreth: LIS Research
Library Research Seminar II
Statement of Purpose
“The Linking of LIS Practitioners and
Researchers and the Elevation of the
Status and Value of Research in the
Library and Information Studies
Community are Principle Goals of the
Seminar Series.”
Hildreth: LIS Research
Library Research Seminar II
Analysis of 50 Submitted Papers:
Variables
 Setting or Context
 Topic or Issue Area
 Research Approach or Aim
 Data Collection Methods
 Statistical Analysis Employed
Hildreth: LIS Research
Library Research Seminar II
Research Report Analysis: Setting
Academic Library
 General Librarianship
 Public Library
 Special
 School

Hildreth: LIS Research
(27)
(14)
(7)
(3)
(2)
Library Research Seminar II
Research Report Analysis: Topic
Admin/Org/Personnel/Assessmt.
 Information Technology /Automation
 Information Seeking Behavior
 Library Use and User
 Library Resource Use/Analysis
 Scholarly Publishing/Communications
 LIS Research/Educ/Curric. Issues
 Library Professional/Career Issues

Hildreth: LIS Research
(17)
(17)
(12)
( 7)
( 4)
( 8)
( 7)
( 3)
Library Research Seminar II
Research Report Analysis: Topic-2
Admin/Org/Personnel
 Use/User/Info. Behavior
 Info Tech/Digital Lib/Internet
 LIS Educ/Profession Issues
 Scholarly Pub/Communication

Hildreth: LIS Research
(21)
(19)
(17)
(10)
( 8)
Library Research Seminar II
Research Report Analysis: Strategy/Aim
Descriptive
 Exploratory/Inductive
 Explanatory/Confirmatory
 Evaluative
 Unknown/Not Applicable

Hildreth: LIS Research
(19)
(21)
( 1)
( 4)
( 7)
Research Approaches Defined
(Russell Schutt: Investigating the Social World)

Descriptive Research

The “What, Where, How often, How much”
questions are typical. Data collected is usually
quantitative data. Measurement, sampling, and
accurate data reporting are key concerns here. Valid
and reliable and measurement instruments and
techniques are critical.

Explanatory Research

Aims to identify causes and effects of
phenomena that will explain behavior or selected
phenomena with a high degree of probability, and
support predictions about this behavior or
phenomena. To establish “causal connections”
between variables, experiments and/or surveys, that
is, quantitative methods, are used.
Hildreth: LIS Research
Research Approaches Defined
(Russell Schutt: Investigating the Social World)

Exploratory/Inductive Research

“What is going on here?” Search for meaning in
actions and activities. Attempts to dig deeper than
surface facts, to discover possible interpretations or
explanations. Frequently involves qualitative
methods and qualitative data.

Evaluation Research

Like, explanatory research, deals with effects
and their causes. But, typically investigates the
implementation of and actual effects of social,
political, or educational programs and policies.
Hildreth: LIS Research
Library Research Seminar II
Research Report Analysis: Strategy/Aim
Descriptive
 Exploratory/Inductive
 Explanatory/Confirmatory
 Evaluative
 Unknown/Not Applicable

Hildreth: LIS Research
(19)
(21)
( 1)
( 4)
( 7)
Library Research Seminar II
Research Report Analysis: Data Collection
Quantitative
 Qualitative
 Both
 Not Clear

Hildreth: LIS Research
(13)
(20)
(11)
( 6)
Library Research Seminar II
Research Report Analysis: Statistics
Descriptive
 Inferential
 Both
 Not Clear/Unknown
 Not Applicable

Hildreth: LIS Research
(19)
( 1)
( 3)
(21)
( 4)
Practitioner Research in the Library Literature
1998-2002
Purposive, Stratified Selection of Journals:
Three Categories
I.
Library Function or Service (10)
II. Type of Library (Academic, Public, etc.) (9)
III. General Librarianship (4)
Hildreth: LIS Research
Practitioner Research in the Library Literature
1998-2002










Cataloging & Classification Quarterly
Collection Management
Technical Services
Library Resources and Technical
Services
Serials Review
Information Technology and Libraries
Reference Services Review
Reference Librarian
Library Collections, Acquisitions and
Technical Services
Research Strategies













College & Research Libraries
Journal of Academic Librarianship
Public Libraries
Public Library Quarterly
Public (& Access) Services Quarterly
Special Libraries
Bulletin of the Medical Library
Association
Science & Technology Libraries
Behavioral & Social Sciences Librarian
Library Trends
Library & Information Science
Research
Journal of Librarianship & Information
Science
Journal of Documentation
Hildreth: LIS Research
Practitioner Research in the Library Literature
Study Population: 23 LIS journals, 19982002
 Sample Frame: 200+ research project
reports
 Random Sample: 100 research articles

Hildreth: LIS Research
Practitioner Research in the Library Literature
Study Variables
1. Topic/Issue
2. Setting/Context
3. Location Site
4. Research Approach/Strategy
5. Data Collection Method
6. Data Analysis Approach
7. Sample Type
8. Statistical Analysis Employed
Hildreth: LIS Research
Practitioner Research in the Library Literature
Published Report Variables
1. Authorship (single/joint)
2. Organization/Readability
3. Critical Content (aim, lit. review, etc.)
4. Procedural depth and detail
5. Visual presentation of data findings
6. Humility factor (study limitations, future)
Hildreth: LIS Research
Practitioner Research in the Library Literature
Analysis Findings: Study Variables
Research Topic
Admin/Org/Personnel
Operations/Functions
IT/Systems
Collections/Resources
Services
Users
Info. Seeking/Use
Indexes/Bibliographies
IR/Database Searching
Publishing/Communication
Citation Analysis
Cooperation/Networks/Consortia
Other (e.g., professional issues)
Hildreth: LIS Research
Frequency/Percent
10
5
1
12
19
7
17
6
4
5
1
0
13
Practitioner Research in the Library Literature
Analysis Findings: Study Variables
Research Topic (Collapsed)
Frequency/Percent
Admin/Technical/Ops
34
Use/User Behavior
47
Professional Issues
13
Publishing/Communication
5
Hildreth: LIS Research
Practitioner Research in the Library Literature
Analysis Findings: Study Variables
Setting
Academic
Public
Special
General
Frequency/Percent
64
7
5
24
Location Site
Single Site
Site Independent
Hildreth: LIS Research
33
67
Practitioner Research in the Library Literature
Analysis Findings: Study Variables
Research Approach/Aim
Descriptive
Exploratory
Explanatory
Evaluative
Multiple
Frequency/Percent
85
25
22
4
35
Hildreth: LIS Research
Practitioner Research in the Library Literature
Analysis Findings: Study Variables
Data Collection Methods
Survey
Observation & Description
Semi-structured Interview
Experiment
Computer Logging
Bibliometric/Citation Analysis
Content Analysis
Case Study
Delphi
Other
Multiple Methods
Frequency/Percent
62
13
10
5
2
14
8
5
0
12
31
Hildreth: LIS Research
Practitioner Research in the Library Literature
Analysis Findings: Study Variables
Data Collection Approach
Quantitative
Qualitative
Both
Frequency/Percent
71
10
19
Hildreth: LIS Research
Practitioner Research in the Library Literature
Analysis Findings: Study Variables
Type of Sample
Frequency/Percent
Randomized, probability
17
Non-probability
75
Unclear, not applicable
8
Hildreth: LIS Research
Practitioner Research in the Library Literature
Analysis Findings: Study Variables
Statistical Analysis
Descriptive
Inferential
Both
Not applicable
Frequency/Percent
73
7
9
11
Association/Correlation
Hypothesis Tested
Hildreth: LIS Research
19
5
Practitioner Research in the Library Literature
Analysis Findings: Report Variables
Organization/Readability/Content
Frequency/Percent
Well-structured, identifiable sections
89
Research question/aim clearly stated
91
Literature review present
81
Hildreth: LIS Research
Practitioner Research in the Library Literature
Analysis Findings: Report Variables
Procedural Depth and Detail
Frequency/Percent
Sample selection and makeup
Detailed data collection procedures
Data-supported analysis of findings
Hildreth: LIS Research
88
93
86
Practitioner Research in the Library Literature
Analysis Findings: Report Variables
Visual Presentation of Data
Frequency/Percent
Tables
59
Charts (Bar, Pie, Histogram)
7
Both
18
None
7
Not applicable
9
Hildreth: LIS Research
Practitioner Research in the Library Literature
Analysis Findings: Report Variables
“Humility Factor”
Frequency/Percent
Reliability/validity addressed
18
Study limitations addressed
25
Future research to be done
38
Hildreth: LIS Research
Practitioner Research in the Library Literature
Analysis Findings: Summary
LIS Practitioner Researchers
- are largely academic librarians
- address a wide variety of research topics
- write well-structured, readable research reports
- but seldom use charts or graphs to present data findings
- conduct less exploratory, qualitative research than
academic researchers
- conduct very little program or policy evaluation research
Hildreth: LIS Research
Practitioner Research in the Library Literature
Analysis Findings: Summary (cont)
LIS Practitioner Researchers
- rely heavily on survey, interview, and structured
observation methods
- but do not appreciate the importance of random,
probability samples
- and are generally unsophisticated (undertrained?) in the
use of statistical data analysis
- and, finally, seem to be unaware of the need to address
study shortcomings, limitations, and reliability or validity
issues.
Hildreth: LIS Research
Practitioner Research in the Library Literature
Key LIS Research Literature Studies:
Crawford, Gregory A. The Research Literature of Academic Librarianship: A Comparison of College &
Research Libraries and Journal of Academic Librarianship. College & Research Libraries, May
1999, 224-230.
Dimitroff, Alexander. Research for Special Libraries: A Quantitative Analysis of the Literature. Special
Libraries, 86(4), 1995, 256-264.
Feehan, Patricia E., W. Lee Gragg II, W. Michael Havener, and Diane D. Kester. Library and
Information Science Research: An Analysis of the 1984 Journal Literature. Library & Information
Science Research, 9. 1987. 173-185.
Hernon, Peter. The Elusive Nature of Research in LIS. In C. McClure and P. Hernon, eds., Library and
Information Science Research: Perspectives and Strategies for Improvement. Norwood, NJ:
Ablex, 1991, 3-14.
Jarvelin, Kalervo and Pertte Vakkari. Content Analysis of Research Articles in Library and Information
Science. Library & Information Science Research, 12, 1990, 395-421.
Julien, Heidi. A Content Analysis of Recent Information Needs and Uses Literature. Library &
Information Science Research, 18(1), 1996, 53-65.
McKechnie, Lynne E.F., Lynda Baker, Martha Greenwood, and Heidi Julien. Research Method Trends
in Human Information Behaviour Literature. Paper presented at: ISIC-2002: Information Seeking in
Context. The Fourth International Conference on Information Needs, Seeking and Use in
Different Contexts. Lisbon, Portugal, September 11 - 13, 2002.
Powell, Ronald R. Recent Trends in Research: A Methodological Essay. Library & Information Science
Research, 21(1), 1999, 91-119.
Van House, Nancy A. Assessing the Quantity, Quality, and Impact of LIS Research. Library &
Information Science Research, Norwood, NJ: Ablex, 1991, 85-100.
Wang, P. Methodologies and Methods for User Behavioral Research. In M. Williams, ed. Annual
Review of Information Science and Technology, 34. Medford, NJ: Information Today, 1999, 53-99.
Hildreth: LIS Research