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Challenging Librarians: the Relevance of the Doctorate in Professional Practice

Challenging Librarians: the Relevance of the Doctorate in Professional Practice. Peter Macauley Deakin University.

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Challenging Librarians: the Relevance of the Doctorate in Professional Practice

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  1. Challenging Librarians: the Relevance of the Doctorate in Professional Practice Peter Macauley Deakin University

  2. Librarianship is an academic discipline but at present it occupies a basement in the house of intellect. It will climb upstairs when it can present a more firmly based tradition of scholarship, more certain and significant research findings, a less didactic approach to its subject matter so that students in library schools participate in academic questioning and argument rather than concentrating on learning a body of facts that will, inevitably, be out of date; and a more pervading sense of urgency and purpose. (Jean Whyte, 1984)

  3. Some Misconceptions • Pure Applied Research • Prior to Career Mid-Career • Academia Professions • Full-Time On-Campus Part-Time &/or Off-Campus • Young, male, science-based, H1

  4. The Reality of Doctoral Candidature in Australia • 72% are over 30 years old • Approximately 50% are part-time • 40% are part-time and off-campus • Only 40% enter academia • 51% male, 49% female • 55% are in professional fields of study • = flexibility and diversity

  5. (Ir)relevance of the Doctorate to Professional Practice • Programmes too narrow • Too specialised • Too theoretical • Poor communication, interpersonal, and leadership skills • Doesn’t encourage multi-disciplinary or trans-disciplinary work • Precludes involvement of practitioners

  6. Information/Knowledge • Librarians focus on information • Researchers focus on knowledge • Turning information into knowledge • e.g. Information Literacy Framework cf. Research Degree Graduate Qualities • Reproducing information • Creating knowledge

  7. A Practical Example • ‘Doctoral research and scholarly communication: candidates, supervisors and information literacy’ • Qualitative/ quantitative • Questionnaires (400+ respondents) • Interviews (72 candidates & supervisors) • Four universities involved • Part-time, full-time, on-campus, off-campus

  8. Librarianship is an academic discipline but at present it occupies a basement in the house of intellect. It will climb upstairs when it can present a more firmly based tradition of scholarship, more certain and significant research findings, a less didactic approach to its subject matter so that students in library schools participate in academic questioning and argument rather than concentrating on learning a body of facts that will, inevitably, be out of date; and a more pervading sense of urgency and purpose. (Jean Whyte, 1984)

  9. A Final Challenge • Consider undertaking a doctorate • Create some new knowledge • Make a significant contribution to professional practice

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