Hildreth: LIS Research Practitioner Research in the Library Literature How Are They Going About it? Charles R. Hildreth, Ph.D. Director, Doctoral Program

Hildreth: LIS Research

Practitioner Research in the Library Literature How Are They Going About it?

Charles R. Hildreth, Ph.D.Director, Doctoral Program

College of Information & Computer ScienceLong Island University/C.W. Post Campus

ALISE ConferenceJanuary 22. 2003


Library Research Seminar IIUniversity of MarylandNovember 2-3, 2001

“Partners & Connections: Research Applied to Practice”


Library Research Seminar IIStatement 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.”


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


Library Research Seminar IIResearch Report Analysis: Setting

Academic Library (27) General Librarianship (14) Public Library (7) Special (3) School (2)


Library Research Seminar IIResearch Report Analysis: Topic

Admin/Org/Personnel/Assessmt. (17) Information Technology /Automation (17) Information Seeking Behavior (12) Library Use and User ( 7) Library Resource Use/Analysis ( 4) Scholarly Publishing/Communications ( 8) LIS Research/Educ/Curric. Issues ( 7) Library Professional/Career Issues ( 3)


Library Research Seminar IIResearch Report Analysis: Topic-2

Admin/Org/Personnel (21) Use/User/Info. Behavior (19) Info Tech/Digital Lib/Internet (17) LIS Educ/Profession Issues (10) Scholarly Pub/Communication( 8)


Library Research Seminar IIResearch Report Analysis: Strategy/Aim

Descriptive (19) Exploratory/Inductive (21) Explanatory/Confirmatory ( 1) Evaluative ( 4) Unknown/Not Applicable ( 7)

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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.


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.


Library Research Seminar IIResearch Report Analysis: Strategy/Aim

Descriptive (19) Exploratory/Inductive (21) Explanatory/Confirmatory ( 1) Evaluative ( 4) Unknown/Not Applicable ( 7)

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Library Research Seminar IIResearch Report Analysis: Data Collection

Quantitative (13) Qualitative (20) Both (11) Not Clear ( 6)


Library Research Seminar IIResearch Report Analysis: Statistics

Descriptive (19) Inferential ( 1) Both ( 3) Not Clear/Unknown (21) Not Applicable ( 4)


Practitioner Research in the Library Literature1998-2002

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)


Practitioner Research in the Library Literature1998-2002

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


Practitioner Research in the Library Literature

Study Population: 23 LIS journals, 1998-2002

Sample Frame: 200+ research project reports

Random Sample: 100 research articles


Practitioner Research in the Library LiteratureStudy Variables

1. Topic/Issue2. Setting/Context3. Location Site4. Research Approach/Strategy5. Data Collection Method6. Data Analysis Approach7. Sample Type8. Statistical Analysis Employed


Practitioner Research in the Library LiteraturePublished 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)


Practitioner Research in the Library LiteratureAnalysis Findings: Study Variables

Research TopicFrequency/

PercentAdmin/Org/Personnel 10Operations/Functions 5IT/Systems 1Collections/Resources 12Services 19Users 7Info. Seeking/Use 17Indexes/Bibliographies 6IR/Database Searching 4Publishing/Communication 5Citation Analysis 1Cooperation/Networks/Consortia 0Other (e.g., professional issues) 13



Research Topic (Collapsed)

Frequency/Percent

Admin/Technical/Ops 34

Use/User Behavior 47

Professional Issues 13

Publishing/Communication 5



Setting Frequency/PercentAcademic 64Public 7Special 5General 24

Location SiteSingle Site 33Site Independent 67



Research Approach/Aim

Frequency/Percent

Descriptive 85

Exploratory 25

Explanatory 22

Evaluative 4

Multiple 35



Data Collection Methods

Frequency/Percent

Survey 62

Observation & Description 13

Semi-structured Interview 10

Experiment 5

Computer Logging 2

Bibliometric/Citation Analysis 14

Content Analysis 8

Case Study 5

Delphi 0

Other 12

Multiple Methods 31



Data Collection Approach

Frequency/Percent

Quantitative 71

Qualitative 10

Both 19



Type of Sample

Frequency/Percent

Randomized, probability 17

Non-probability 75

Unclear, not applicable 8



Statistical Analysis

Frequency/Percent

Descriptive 73Inferential 7Both 9Not applicable 11

Association/Correlation 19Hypothesis Tested 5


Practitioner Research in the Library LiteratureAnalysis Findings: Report Variables

Organization/Readability/Content

Frequency/Percent

Well-structured, identifiable sections 89

Research question/aim clearly stated 91

Literature review present 81



Procedural Depth and Detail

Frequency/Percent

Sample selection and makeup 88

Detailed data collection procedures 93

Data-supported analysis of findings 86



Visual Presentation of Data

Frequency/PercentTables 59Charts (Bar, Pie, Histogram) 7Both 18None 7Not applicable 9



“Humility Factor”

Frequency/Percent

Reliability/validity addressed 18

Study limitations addressed 25

Future research to be done 38


Practitioner Research in the Library LiteratureAnalysis 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


Practitioner Research in the Library LiteratureAnalysis 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.


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.

Documents

Hildreth: LIS Research Practitioner Research in the Library Literature How Are They Going About it? Charles R. Hildreth, Ph.D. Director, Doctoral Program