The academic librarian as co‐investigator on an interprofessional primary research team: a case study

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this study was to explore the role librarians play on research teams. The experiences of a librarian and a faculty member are situated within the wider literature addressing collaborations between health science librarians and research faculty. Methods: A case study approach is used to outline the involvement of a librarian on a team created to investigate the best practices for integrating nurses into the workplace during their first year of practice. Results: Librarians contribute to research teams including expertise in the entire process of knowledge development and dissemination including the ability to navigate issues related to copyright and open access policies of funding agencies. Discussion: The librarian reviews the various tasks performed as part of the research team ranging from the grant application, to working on the initial literature review as well as the subsequent manuscripts that emerged from the primary research. The motivations for joining the research team, including authorship and relationship building, are also discussed. Recommendations are also made in terms of how librarians could increase their participation on research teams. Conclusion: The study shows that librarians can play a key role on interprofessional primary research teams.

Developing the Librarians' Role in Supporting Grant Applications and Reducing Waste in Research: Outcomes From a Literature Review and Survey in the NIHR Research Design Service

“…At La Trobe University Library, Australia this included supporting literature reviews as part of grant applications (Karasmanis & Murphy, 2014). At the University of Utah USA (Ziegenfuss & Furse, 2016) and the University of British Columbia, Canada (Janke & Rush, 2014) it involved co-authoring and becoming full participants on the funded project.…”

“…They also developed a Research Impact Service to provide research metrics (bibliometrics) which researchers could use to support their grant applications (Karasmanis & Murphy, 2014) In the other two studies the librarian was asked to join the research team. At the University of British Columbia the librarian became a co-investigator on a project investigating best practices for newly qualified nurses (Janke & Rush, 2014). The librarian was involved early in the process and both edited and reviewed the grant application before it was submitted.…”

“…At the University of British Columbia (Janke & Rush, 2014) Contributing to reducing avoidable waste in research Kirtley suggests that librarians can contribute to two of the areas highlighted by the Lancet series when research is being designed and grant applications written (Kirtley, 2016). Firstly, by assessing the extent of uncertainty by checking for and identifying any relevant ongoing research, and secondly, by peer reviewing search strategies used to identify evidence in support of grant applications.…”

“…The librarian who was part of the Advanced Customer Search Service (Karasmanis & Murphy, 2014) found it opened up new opportunities for closer integration between La Trobe University Library and the research team and also provided an excellent search service for researchers. Librarians may become more embedded in the research term throughout the whole project (not just initial literature searches), for example, screening and appraising research and reporting methods in research reports (Janke & Rush, 2014), or presenting research findings at conferences and workshops (Ziegenfuss & Furse, 2016).…”

“…It can aid the librarian's own professional development as they learn more about the research process, and they may have a chance to do more than facilitate literature searching for evidence (Janke & Rush, 2014), or to learn new skills, for example in grant writing or critical appraisal.…”