top of page
.jpg)
Stephanie
Tyson
Hello, I'm Stephanie.
My passion is public libraries.
Goal 4: Theory & Praxis
Students have a critical grounding in theoretical perspectives that draw on research in LIS as well as other fields of knowledge, that inform their professional practices including research, organization, management, and access to information.
IV.a. Students will describe applications of quantitative and qualitative research methodologies in library and information science.
This assignment was to write about access to Scholarly information via the web. Since the textbook used for reference to this assignment was about 13 years old, I decided to examine research that had been done in the years since. It references both quantitative studies (statistics on ResearchGate users and their motivations for using the site), and qualitative studies (how scholars used the concept of microinteractions to change their archiving site).
The needs assessment is taking quantitative research - statistics and surveys - and turning them into a plan for collection development. When talking qualitative and quantitative research methodologies, it is easy to get caught up thinking about scholarly practices, but in reality it can just point to circulation stats and patron/staff opinions. In these at least, there is a direct application in library and information science - the collection development plan.
IV.b. Students will identify opportunities for research and develop plans for research in applied settings in library and information science.
This assignment fulfills this SLO perfectly. Students were to identify a problem in the library world, do background research into the subject matter, and then design a proposal on how one would conduct the research into this particular issue. It covers all the components of a research project, including: needs assessment, literature review, significance of study, research goal & research questions. In addition, it teaches students about planning personnel needed, the timeline for the study, and the budget.
A strategic plan may not be what one would immediately think of when it comes to research, however there are many similar components, including conducting a needs assessment, planning a budget, personnel needed, a timeline for completing the project, etc. A strategic plan should also have some sort of literature review - even if it isn't written as part of the plan. It's important to look at other libraries to see if they have tried similar plans and what their outcomes were. One could argue that a strategic plan is the application of the information found out in a research proposal. Once the research has been done, the plan is used to take those results and turn it into action.
bottom of page