Library and Information Research (LIR)
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Book Reviews
Get PDFEffective literature searching for research. Sarah Gash
Only connect: shaping networks and knowledge for the new
millennium. Trevor Haywood
Information sources for the press and broadcast media.
Sarah Adair (ed.).
Exploring the contexts of information behaviour. Thornas D. WiIson and David K. Allen.
Researching markets by industry sectors: a guide to sources and services. David Mort (ed.).
Change management for information services. Sharon Penfold.
LISU Reports - NHS libraries: statistics 1997-98. Public library materials fund and budget survey 1998-2000.Perspectives of public library use 2: a compendium of survey information
Access- the Millenium fix? The role and performance document supply services in a Higher Education library.
No full textAs one of the ongoing University of Liverpool Library
developments along the\u27hybrid continuum\u27 investigations
into the effectiveness, efficiency and economic
implications of document delivery services were.
undertaken. Evaluation and analyses looked at both
qualitative and quantitative aspects of the services: both
established and new services were reviewed. The
evidence from the analyses to date indicates that the
\u27access versus holdings\u27 debate will continue well into the
millennium
Analysis of the impact of research information on practitioners.
Get PDFResearch findings, if they are to fulfil their purpose, must be perceived as valuable and worth accessing. The role of research is to change the status quo, therefore findings need to be absorbed by practitioners. Research is more than a cycle of methodologies and data analysis techniques for
other researchers to use and adapt. It is accepted that findings may not always be relevant to the problems or issues faced by practitioners. Practitioners need to be aware of the range of research undertaken and any findings, in order that they may make informed decisions. Much of the research
that is undertaken within the information community addresses issues of concern to practitioners. However, the extent to which practitioners are aware of research, have access to research findings and particularly, how this impacts on their decision making is not well understood. To investigaie
the impact of research information on practitioners, it is necessary to look beyond outward behaviour patterns and to try to understand the internal processes which lead practitioners to decisions. There is a need to examine the knowledge of the practitioner and how it is applied. Such
an approach would produce a fuller and more useful model of how and why research information impacts on practitioners
CD-ROM user interface evaluation: the appropriateness of GUIs
Get PDFThe study\u27s general objective was to assess the appropriateness of Graphical User lnterfaces (GUI)
for CD-ROM applications and examine to what extent a GUI based on Windows could facilitate the ease of use of these applications. A full account of the study is reported elsewhere(l)
The information needs of prisoners: a study of three penal establishments
Get PDFThis research was conducted as part of the coursework requirements to complete the MA in Librarianship at the University of Sheffield, and was carried out during the early part of 1992. The objective of the study was to determine the nature of inmates\u27 information needs and examine how
effectively they were met
iKnow: Information skills in the 21st Century workplace
Get PDFThe iKnow (Information and Knowledge at Work) project at The Open University (OU) set out to explore and articulate the information skills requirements of the 21st century workplace. Although some existing research had highlighted the costs of ineffective information searching in the workplace, there appeared to be little online material to remedy this. The project was run in three phases, which involved identifying the key competencies, developing some prototype ‘bite-size’ materials and piloting them for their effectiveness in a variety of workplaces. The results of the study show that participants not only perceived the skills as relevant and useful, but also found that the bite-size model made training easier to schedule into a working day. The project team found that these materials could potentially be an important link between informal and formal learning, of particular relevance in the current economic climate
Diverse everyday information practices in Australian households
Get PDFQualitative research into the everyday information-seeking practices of eight diverse households in the city of Melbourne, Australia permitted insights into the variability in dynamics around information practices. The current study combines an information practice approach to information-seeking with finer detail on use of the Internet. Rather than treat the Internet as a monolithic entity, this study looks separately at the use of more recent Internet technologies such as social media and Wikipedia. The study examines the type of information that people seek, the ways in which they stay informed and their engagement with a range of information resources. In particular, the study illustrates the enormous disparity in the level of information resources available to participants. It also illustrates the extent to which use of the search engine, Google, has become naturalised within the everyday information practices of some Internet users in Australia. This study indicates that public libraries still have particular importance for more disadvantaged members of the population
Future proofing the health library and information profession through research: the CILIP Agenda.
Get PDFThis paper describes the work undertaken by the
Chartered lnstitute of Library and lnformation
Professionals (ClLlP) to address the concerns of the
health library and information community and in
particular to address the concerns of this group for
support ln becoming a more research-active
profession. CILIP appointed a Health Executlve
Advisory Group to address these issues and its report,
"Future Proofing the Profession", and its
recommendations in relation to research, are
considered in this paper, alongside the
recommendations relating to research made by an
earlier CILIP PolicyAdvisory Group on the Knowledge
Economy. ClLlPi response to the report including the
establishment of a HEAG lmplementation Group is
also described and the work of CILIP and its\u27special
interest groups in addressing the research issues of the
HEAG report are outlined
Practical issues in creating an evidence base for Library and Information Practice
Get PDFWhat are the practical issues in creating a knowledge
base for the library and information profession? ln this
article the authors explore this topic from a practitioner-researcher perspective in order to identify the issues which arise from undertaking research, informed by experiences when conducting a qualitative systematic review.
The paper identifies barriers to using research, as
perceived by library and information professionals, and
discusses general issues encountered when undertaking research as a practitioner.
It reports the experiences of conducting a systematic review of qualitative research in the area of critical appraisal skills, a review spanning several disciplines. The authors select several factors of particular importance to illustrate the specific challenges of creating an evidence base in library and information practice. They highlight many examples of pitfalls and difficulties, but also the payback and rewards, of doing research