LIS403, The Role of Research

1. LIS403, The Role of Research Spring 2005 G. Benoit, Ph.D. Associate Professor Simmons College, GSLIS

2. About the class • Thematic-based • Each theme represents an aspect of research that librarians should know • Assignment at the end of each theme • Readings, slides, discussion, hands-on • We’ll progress as needs/interests dictate • If there’s something you’d like to explore, or you have questions, feel free to ask!

3. About the class • Themes: • Craft of research • Critiquing research • Trends in LIS research • Analysis of data • Practice of research From General To Specific LIS needs

4. Life cycle of research

5. Class web page http://web.simmons.edu/~benoit/LIS403/index.html • Assignments page • Detailed instructions • Guidelines • Due dates • Readings • All linked to our homepage • Babbie as alternative to Powell

6. Any questions, thoughts, ideas?Expectations of the course?

7. What is research? • Definitions of research • Why research is important • Overview of research process • Why the course is valuable

8. What is research? • Significant difference between everyday use of the term and the scientific or academic use: • Oxford English Dictionary: • “the act of searching (closely and carefully) for or after a specified thing or person” • “a search or investigation directed to the discovery of some fact by careful consideration or study of a subject; a course of critical or scientific inquiry”

9. What is research? • Dangerous when people or organization does “casual research” (definition no. 1) but implies • They’ve done scientific research (def. #2) • Results should therefore be taken as fact • And that the results are reliable and valid. • In fact, critical or scientific inquiry (def. #2) is a formal process, intended to produce results that are reliable, valid, replicable, and contribute to existing knowledge.

10. What is not research • The term research often is used for things, on their own at least, are not true research: • Going to the library to look up something (e.g., a literature search) • Finding facts to prove something • “How I did it…” papers • Publications that use data • “information gathering” • Searching for data when writing an essay • Compiling facts in written form

11. General definition/criteria • Research: systematic process of collecting and analyzing data or information in order to increase understanding of a phenomenon. • Inquiry process • Formal process of problem solving • Set of procedures or steps • Originates with a question or problem • Statement of a goal and a specific plan of research approach … (con’t)

12. General definition/criteria • Often breaks down the overall problem into manageable sub-problems • Requires the • Collection, • Interpretation, and • Analysis of data • Often is an iterative process • Research builds on previous research • Reflected in the ‘literature review’ section

13. Why is research important? • What do you think?

14. Why is research important? • Formal research can guard against the dangers of casual inquiry • Fundamental tendency of people to • Accept what we hear when presented as facts • Predict future events based on causality • Accept tradition as fact • Accept authority • Inaccurate observation • Overgeneralizations • Selective observation

15. Why is research important? • Formal research can also guard against specific faults of the researcher • Opinions about the way things should be • Applications of the misconceptions • Careless or faulty methods and observations • Ego involvement • Example from medical research

16. Why is research important? Formal research is important also in providing a solid foundation for the… • Discovery and creation of knowledge • Theory building • Testing, confirmation, revision, refutation of knowledge or theory • Investigation of a problem for local decision making • Advance a discipline or field • Leads to improvements and advancements • Promotion and tenure • Research grants

17. Overview of the research process Research is an inquiry process with specific components (Hernon, 2001) • Reflective inquiry: • Problem statement • Literature review and theoretical framework • Logical structure • Objectives • Research question (the problem) or hypotheses (when appropriate)

18. Overview of the research process Procedures • Research design • Data collection methods • Data analysis: • Gathering, processing, and analyzing data

19. Overview of the research process Issues of reliability, validity, credibility, confirmation Presentation of findings: • Accepted format for professional publication • Adequate explanation of procedures and statistics • Effective use of graphics • Adequate interpretation and alternatives • Examples?

20. Overview of the research process There are other ways to present the components and steps in scientific research Important point is the formal framework • Distinguishes research from the casual use of the term • Enables such research to have real value (now and for unanticipated purposes)

21. Why is this course important? • We’re surrounded by data, stats, figures, claims that appear to be “facts” because they appear to be the result of “research”: • Mass media reports that define various characteristics of “Americans” by polls or surveys [we should wonder…] • Is it a representative sample? • Is the sample size adequate? • Did the ‘researcher’ ask leading questions?

22. Why is this course important? As LIS students & professionals: • Develop an understanding of the role of research LIS • To evaluate research (critical consumers) • Does it have credence? • Does it have value? • Can you use it in your job? • To get an idea of your own research • Should be useful in your daily life!

23. Recap • Class mechanics • Overview of research as a formal process • Specific steps involved in the craft of research • Specific influences upon the researcher • Consumers must be aware of weaknesses • We’ll go in detail by dividing research into theme • Concur?