Library and Information Research (LIR)
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No full textMarcella, Rifa and Newton, Robert. New manual
of classification
Cawkell, A.E. A guide to image and picture
management
Brophy, Peter. Opportunities for libraries in Europ
BILI: Building Information Literacy in Ireland
Get PDFAlthough information literacy (IL) practice has long been evident in Irish libraries, it was 2008 before the Working Group on Information Literacy (WGIL) published the first Irish national, cross-sector review. In 2012, we built on this research in order to (1) revisit the WGIL case studies and examine how IL was evolving, (2) consider the wider IL context in Ireland, and (3) examine innovations among international bodies supporting IL practice.
Nine international experts and seventeen Irish experts contributed to interviews and surveys. This article focuses on the Irish findings. Revisiting case studies demonstrated that IL remains a priority for the majority despite the economic recession. Wider themes uncovered include embedding IL in the curriculum and workplace, e-citizenship, continuing professional development and advocacy.
Recommendations centre on a two-tiered approach to IL development: a practitioner-led community of practice that facilitates communication and collaboration, and a high-level advocacy committee that fosters a holistic national strategy
An expanded critical incident approach for exploring information use and learning
Get PDFCritical incidents offer a focus for exploratory research about human experiences, including information use and information literacy learning. This paper describes how critical incidents underpinned research about international students’ use of online information resources at two Australian universities. It outlines the development and application of an expanded critical incident approach (ECIA), explaining how ECIA built upon critical incident technique (CIT) and incorporated information literacy theory. It discusses points of expansion (differences) between CIT and ECIA. While CIT initially proved useful in structuring the research, the pilot study revealed methodological limitations. ECIA allowed more nuanced data analysis and the integration of reflection. The study produced a multifaceted word picture of international students’ experience of using online information resources to learn, and a set of critical findings about their information literacy learning needs. ECIA offers a fresh approach for researching information use, information experience, evidence-based practice, information literacy and informed learning
Immersed in cyberspace : an evaluation of a grounded theory approach to a study of user preferences
Get PDFThis paper describes a piece of research intended to establish user preferences for the design of virtual worlds for information retrieval, and reflects critically on the methodology adopted. Over 100 students and staff at Robert Gordon University were interviewed, in three cycles of literature review, interview, development and testing. A grounded theory approach was taken, in order to reach conclusions based on user experiences, rather than on the literature. Findings were that preferences appear to be based on affective, rather than structural, criteria, the most influential being familiarity, quality, representation, mediation, etc.
The effectiveness of the grounded theory approach in this piece of research is evaluated, with particular regard to the typical criticisms to which such an approach is subject. It is concluded that there is value in the approach, but the limitations of the approach are acknowledged, and strategies to reduce the effect of these are discussed
Systematic Reviews in Theory and Practice for Library and Information Studies
Get PDFThis article is about the use of systematic reviews as a research methodology in library and information studies (LIS). A systematic review is an attempt to gather all of the research on a given topic in order to answer a specific question. They have been used extensively in the health care field and have more recently found their way into the social sciences, including librarianship. Examples of the use of systematic reviews in LIS illustrate the benefits and challenges to using this methodology. Included is a brief description of how to conduct a review and a reading list for further information
Creating information literacy partnerships in Higher Education
Get PDFThis piece of research focuses upon the area of information literacy and its effective embedding within the curriculum in Higher Education. In particular, it investigates the promotion of partnerships between academic librarians and faculty staff members, with a view to improving information literacy.
Using the work of Wenger (1998) in relation to communities of practice as a theoretical influence, and an action research methodology, the views of academics within one subject area at York St John University have been canvassed via semi-structured interviews, followed up with questionnaires after interventions from the Academic Support Librarian.
The initial interviews showed that the view of the librarian was varied across the participants, but that, in the main, it was viewed as a support post (rather than reactive or a partner). The questionnaires suggested that the group approach was more effective in promoting partnership, but that both group and one-to-one interventions had some positive effects in this
Quantitative vs. qualitative – do different research methods give us consistent information about our users and their library space needs?
Get PDFAssessment of how library patrons use space and the evaluation of their needs has become a “hot” topic in library research. But determining the best way to obtain information about their activity can be a challenge. Two types of data collection are quantitative and qualitative. Quantitative data provides a numerical count of what activities students perform within the library and therefore can be measured. Qualitative data gives personal opinions, feedback and individual perspectives regarding a topic but is not measurable. In this study, we were interested to learn if we would get substantially different results from a user observation study, a quantitative method, than from the results of asking users about their library space needs, a qualitative method. Essentially, would the results from both methods provide complementary results enabling us to obtain a comprehensive picture about our patrons’ needs and redesign the space to improve their library experience
Exploring information experiences through phenomenography
Get PDFPhenomenography is a qualitative research approach that seeks to explore variation in how people experience various aspects of their world. Phenomenography has been used in numerous information research studies that have explored various phenomena of interest in the library and information sphere. This paper provides an overview of the phenomenographic method and discusses key assumptions that underlie this approach to research. Aspects including data collection, data analysis and the outcomes of phenomenographic research are also detailed. The paper concludes with an illustration of how phenomenography was used in research to investigate students’ experiences of web-based information searching. The results of this research demonstrate how the phenomenographic approach yields insights into variation, making it possible to develop greater understanding of the phenomenon as it was experienced, and to draw upon these experiences to improve and enhance current practice
A bibliometric approach to evaluating the impact of national libraries
Get PDFIn order to understand the value to society of a national library, it is essential to go beyond counting usage figures and understand impacts; \u27the difference that the library makes\u27. The paper suggests that, for the National Library of Scotland (NLS), a key impact is the generation of new knowledge. A viable proxy for measuring this impact is establishing the number of publications produced in which the authors cite the use of NLS collections or services. The paper proposes a simple methodology for estimating the number of such research outputs through a bibliometric analysis of Google Scholar and other research resources