Assessment of the Research Learning Needs of University of Saskatchewan Librarians: A Case Study

Schrader, Alvin M.; Shiri, Ali; Williamson, Vicki

doi:10.5860/crl-235

Cited by 26 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…Our study was, however, more in line with another UK study, which found that 47% of UK health librarians had research involvement in the previous 2 years [17]. A high level of research involvement by academic librarians is shown in our study as well as in others (59% versus 62% and 66%, respectively) [16,18]. Research grant writing by health sciences librarians may have slightly increased from 29%-30% in the 1990s to 33% [19,20], as found in our study.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 72%

“…Other significant barriers identified in our survey, such as lack of institutional support and training, have also been reported in other studies [15,20,28]. While research competencies have received scant attention in the LIS literature, a recent case study of Canadian academic librarians reflected similar results to those obtained in our study: analysis of data and selection of an appropriate methodology for research were top ranked learning needs [18].…”

Section: Institutional Affiliation and Research Productivitysupporting

confidence: 79%

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Research engagement of health sciences librarians: a survey of research-related activities and attitudes

Lessick¹,

Perryman

Billman

et al. 2016

J Med Libr Assoc

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Introduction:The extent to which health sciences librarians are engaged in research is a little-studied question. This study assesses the research activities and attitudes of Medical Library Association (MLA) members, including the influence of work affiliation.Methods: An online survey was designed using a combination of multiple-choice and open-ended questions and distributed to MLA members. Responses were analyzed using descriptive statistics, content analysis, and significance testing. The authors used statistical tools and categorized openended question topics by the constant comparative method, also applying the broad subject categories used in a prior study. Pearson's chi-square analysis was performed on responses to determine significant differences among respondents employed in three different institutional environments.Results: Analysis showed that 79% of respondents read research articles at least once a month; 58% applied published research studies to practice; 44% had conducted research; 62% reported acting on research had enhanced their libraries; 38% had presented findings; and 34% had authored research articles. Hospital librarians were significantly less likely than academic librarians to have participated in research activities. Highly ranked research benefits, barriers, and competencies of health sciences librarians are described.Conclusions: Findings indicate that health sciences librarians are actively engaged in research activities. Practice implications for practitioners, publishers, and stakeholders are discussed. Results suggest that practitioners can use published research results and results from their own research to affect practice decisions and improve services. Future studies are needed to confirm and extend these findings, including the need for intervention studies to increase research and writing productivity.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 72%

Section: Institutional Affiliation and Research Productivitysupporting

confidence: 79%

Research engagement of health sciences librarians: a survey of research-related activities and attitudes

Lessick¹,

Perryman

Billman

et al. 2016

J Med Libr Assoc

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…As academic libraries increasingly refocus their efforts on supporting research to align with governmental and institutional research agendas and strategic priorities (Auckland 2012;Brown and Swan 2007;Du and Evans 2011;Kroll and Forsman 2010;Mamtora 2011;Onwuegbuzie and Jiao 2000;Rowlands et al 2008;Schrader, Shiri, and Williamson 2012;Richardson et al 2012), the authors suggest that the impact of the 'humble' library research consultation on university research be re-examined.…”

Section: Introduction and Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wrangling the Literature: Quietly Contributing to HDR Completions

Warburton

Macauley

2014

Australian Academic & Research Libraries

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Many Higher Degree by Research candidates find the experience of searching the literature overwhelming and stressful. Experienced researchers draw on deep disciplinary knowledge, prior experience, and their networks to locate relevant information and sources. Inexperienced researchers may lack access to internal roadmaps of terms, authors and methodologies and require informed guidance. Advanced information literacy is a critical factor for student success, particularly to support the literature review process, and the need for effective information management skills has never been greater. The quality of doctoral candidates' literature reviews, and their ability to undertake substantive and 'do-able' research is linked. Whilst do-it-yourself ICT and 'Google-like' search engines have led to easier information access, are Higher Degree by Research (HDR) students equipped to effectively navigate through, and manage the plethora of research sources available? This paper shares findings and recommendations of a case study profiling PhD candidate usage of the University of Melbourne Library's research consultation service. The study explored whether consultations conducted at the 'point of need' make a difference in the early stages of PhD candidature and questioned whether consultations contribute to improved research ability and successful outcomes. The paper also questions assumptions made by candidates and supervisors in relation to information-related research skills.

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“…Common supports include writing support groups (Campbell, Ellis & Adebonojo, 2012;Exner & Harris Houk, 2010;Fallon, 2012;Tysick & Babb, 2006), journal clubs (Fitzgibbons, Kloda, & Miller-Nesbitt, 2017), support groups or forums for research conversations (Carson, Colosimo, Lake, & McMillan, 2014;Hall & McBain, 2014;Miller & Benefiel, 1998;Sapon-White, King & Christie, 2004), mentorship programs (Cirasella & Smale, 2011;Stephens, Sare, Kimball, Foster, & Kitchens, 2011), research skills development initiatives (Edwards, Jennerich, & Ward, 2009;Jacobs & Berg, 2013;McBain, Hall, & Culshaw, 2013;Schrader, Shiri, & Williamson, 2012), research leaves or release time, and funding (Smigielski, Laning, & Daniels, 2014). Alongside these supports, Canadian academic librarians are actively developing communities within and outside of their institutions to foster a positive research culture across Canada (Carson et al, 2014;Jacobs & Berg, 2013;Meadows, Berg, Hoffmann, Torabi, & Gardiner, 2013;Mierke & Williamson, 2017;Wilson, 2017).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding Factors that Encourage Research Productivity for Academic Librarians

Hoffmann¹,

Berg²,

Koufogiannakis³

2017

EBLIP

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Objective -This project identifies the factors that contribute to the success of librarians as active researchers. Research success is generally aligned with productivity and output, and the authors are therefore interested in understanding the factors that encourage research productivity. This fills a gap in the literature on librarians as researchers, which has tended to focus on barriers rather than enablers.Methods -For this quantitative study, we distributed an online survey to 1,653 potential participants across Canada and received 453 usable responses for a 27% response rate. The Evidence Based Library and Information Practice 2017, 12.4 103 survey asked participants to report their research outputs and to answer questions that addressed three categories of factors: Individual Attributes, Peers and Community, and Institutional Structures and Supports. We then statistically analyzed participant responses in order to identify relationships between the research output variables (weighted output score and number of peer-reviewed articles) and the three categories, the factors within those categories, and the constituent components.Results -Participants' research output consisted largely of presentations, non-peer-reviewed articles, peer-reviewed articles, and posters. All three categories of factors were significantly related to research output, both for a calculated weighted output score and for number of peerreviewed articles. All of the factors identified within those categories were also significant when tested against weighted output score, but Intrinsic Motivations was not a significant factor when tested against number of peer-reviewed articles. Several components of factors were also not significant for number of peer-reviewed articles. Age was the only significant component of Demographics. Three components of Education and Experience were significant: whether participants had received research training after completing their MLIS, whether they were working on an advanced degree, and the institution where they had obtained their MLIS.Conclusions -Research productivity is significantly impacted by all three categories: Individual Attributes, Peers and Community, and Institutional Structures and Supports. Fostering an environment that focuses on all of these areas will be most likely to promote research output for librarians. At the same time, this study's findings point to particular aspects that warrant further investigation, such as the nature and effect of institutional support and librarians' motivations for doing research.

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Assessment of the Research Learning Needs of University of Saskatchewan Librarians: A Case Study

Cited by 26 publications

References 7 publications

Research engagement of health sciences librarians: a survey of research-related activities and attitudes

Research engagement of health sciences librarians: a survey of research-related activities and attitudes

Wrangling the Literature: Quietly Contributing to HDR Completions

Understanding Factors that Encourage Research Productivity for Academic Librarians

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