Competency L

Demonstrate understanding of quantitative and qualitative research methods, the ability to design a research project, and the ability to evaluate and synthesize research literature.

Introduction

For information professionals, having the skills to conduct research is crucial to their work. The information they discover and present can be used to add to the current body of literature, improve current programs and services or suggest new ones. There are two main branches of research for the LIS field: basic and applied (Powell, 2018). Basic research is based on the scientific method of inquiry and builds on previous knowledge to create new knowledge. The steps of this type of research are as follows: statement of the research problem, identification of past research into the topic, development of a hypothesis or hypotheses, description of methodology, collection and analysis of data, observations from the analysis and concluding remarks. Applied research is similar to early LIS research and is focused on solving real-life problems and creating practical solutions. A few types of applied research commonly used in the LIS field include action and evaluative research.

The Importance of Research to Information Professionals

Research is important for information professionals for the following reasons (Powell, 2018):

  • Professional and personal growth- professionally, research helps build upon the current body of knowledge, solve problems, and develop research tools for organizational analysis. Personally, research helps to develop an individual's critical and analytical thinking and problem-solving skills.

  • Management- research informs evidence-based decision-making.

  • Evaluating research- a key part of the role of information professionals is to be able to critically read, understand and evaluate research reports.

  • Improvement of services and programs- research enables professionals to focus on the needs of their information communities.

Qualitative vs. Quantitative Research

Understanding the distinction between qualitative and quantitative research and the data each method produces is essential for any researcher. The question being asked determines what kind of methodology the researcher chooses, with the option to blend both qualitative and quantitative methods (Streefkerk, 2023).

Qualitative research will generate descriptive results. This type of research is used to understand ideas/concepts, thoughts, feelings, and insights and is often used in social sciences. Qualitative research approaches include ethnography (cultural immersion), action research (observation), grounded theory (inference), phenomenological research (lived experiences), and narrative research (user stories, interviews).

Quantitative research, on the other hand, generates numerical/ statistical data to test theories or assumptions. These research approaches are often used in the natural and social science fields. The data generated by this type of research establish facts about the topic. Quantitative research approaches include experiments, observations that can be recorded as numbers, and surveys with directed questions (i.e. On a scale from one to ten, with one being the worst and ten being the best, how would you rate this library service?).

Both of these types of research have their own set of benefits and drawbacks, as shown in Table 1.0.

Table 1.0: The Benefits & Drawbacks of Qualitative and Quantitative Research Methods (Bhandari, 2022)(Bhandari, 2023)

Qualitative

Quantitative

Benefits

  • flexibility

  • real-world settings

  • meaningful insights (system and product design)

  • generation of new ideas

  • replication

  • direct statistical comparison of results

  • large samples sizes can be processed

Drawbacks

  • unreliable (recording the complex real world)

  • research subjectivity/ opinions

  • limited generalizability (data gathered is about specific contexts)

  • labour-intensive (need someone to administer these research methods)

  • superficial results (distilling of the complex)

  • narrow focus

  • structural bias (missing data, imprecise measurements)

  • lack of context (lab vs. real life)

Method

Description

Participants

Data Generated

Qualitative or Quantitative?

Important Factors to Consider

Surveys

One of the most frequently used research methods. Distributed questionnaires that have a combination of directed and open-ended questions.

Anyone who is given the survey

Depends on the questions being asked in the survey.

Both

There is a whole body of research into the effectiveness of surveys. The way the questions are worded influences how respondents complete the survey.

Focus Group

An unstructured interview with a small group of participants.

Individuals who would like to participate in the group.

The feelings, attitudes, and behaviours.

Qualitative

A researcher must assume that the data collected represents only some of the community.

Content Analysis

Unique to studies of information service topics, this is an analysis of the vocabulary, phrases, or concepts about the topic found in the media.

Media includes books, films, videos, websites, and social media.

The frequency of how many times the elements are used in the media.

Quantitative

This method is often used in conjunction with other research methods.

Bibliometrics

This method measures bibliographic data. The most common type of this method is citation analysis, where the researcher tracks who cites who in the published literature.

The body of literature on a topic.

The distribution of subject matter literature amongst relevant publications.

Quantitative

Related to scientometrics, infometrics, and librametrics. Another method that is unique to information service research.

Observations

To understand something by seeing the things in their actual setting. The researcher is just an observer; they should not participate in the environment.

Whoever is in the study environment at the time.

Research notes about what they observed while in the environment.

Qualitative

The data gathered may not be impartial. The researcher's presence may also be unsettling, causing the participants to act differently.

Interviews

An interviewer asks open-ended questions to determine the individual’s thoughts and feelings about a topic.

Individuals who are asked/ volunteer to participate in the research

Answers that may or may not answer the question asked. These can either be insightful or irrelevant.

Qualitative

The interview questions must be crafted carefully to omit the possibility of bias. The interviewer’s way of delivering the questions may influence the answers given.


How to Design A Research Project

As part of INFO 285- Action Research, which I took with Dr. Renee Jefferson, we created an action research project proposal. From this experience, these are the phases of designing a research project as I understand it.

The first phase was to create a general outline of the research's focus, generally a question, a statement of a problem, a new idea/project, or a component of a more extensive research study. The next step was to conduct a thorough review of the literature currently available on the topic. Literature reviews help the LIS researcher establish the available theoretical and conceptual framework for the selected topic and help them to identify gaps in the knowledge base. In these gaps, an information professional can explore the topic with new methodologies (hypotheses) or from a different perspective (research questions), contribute significantly, or satisfy their curiosity.

Sources for literature reviews can come from many places, including LIS indexes, publications (texts, journals), publications and resources from professional associations such as the ALA, and research reports from relevant government agencies. From these sources, a researcher can identify critical sources and include them in an annotated bibliography containing a summary and reasons why this source is relevant to the current study. The final review document should organize the current information based on the topic and highlight the significant authors and benchmark works.

After the literature review, we determined our methods during the data-gathering phase. The methods section outlined who the participants would be and where the research would take place, the data collection instruments that would be used (i.e. surveys) and what procedure would be used to collect the data.

While we didn’t complete the research because the project was focused on creating a proposal, the research projects I undertook for the User Experience, Design Thinking, and STEM in Libraries courses required an analysis of results or an evaluation plan. Limitations of the methods used and the results they garnered were also discussed.

Research Methods for Information Professionals

There are various ways an information professional can use to gather the data they will need for their study. Often, a combination of methods is used in a single study.

Table 1.0: Some Research Methods I Have Learned About Through My MLIS Journey

Evidence

Applied Research Study Proposal (ARSP)
INFO 285: Applied Research Methods-Action Research with Renee Jefferson

Description

My partner, Chelsea Simpson, and I worked on different areas of this research proposal throughout the semester. We were interested in the creation of makerspaces in libraries and focused explicitly on identifying how these spaces could be created to be more accessible. We felt improved accessibility creates and maintains an engaging and barrier-free makerspace environment. Our proposal included an annotated bibliography, a literature review mapping out the existing body of research, and plans for how to carry out a research project.

Justification

I chose our ARSP report as evidence for Competency L because it demonstrates that we could design an action research project to explore a topic. We were also to show that we could find and synthesize relevant research literature into a comprehensive report.

The Information Seeking Needs & Behavior of Young Children Research Project
INFO 200 with Steven Tash

Description

We were asked to select an information community to focus on for this project. I selected young children and their parents. Throughout the semester, we were asked to create blog posts for the following topics:

  • Community Description

  • Overview of Information-Seeking Behaviors of Community

  • Research Article Summary

  • Information Community & Instructional Programming

  • Global Issues & Information Community

  • Emerging Technology Use of Information Community

Using these blog posts and other assignments from the class, we were to write a final paper that condensed all of the blog posts and included a:

  • Literature review

  • Critical assessment of the findings

Justification

This research paper demonstrates that I can search the LIS scholarly databases to identify research that covers a topic. I can read and understand research publications and turn what I have learned from the studies into a literature review. I am then able to take that research and synthesize it into a comprehensive report that summarizes the current research about the information community as well as identifies the research directions that could be taken in the future.

Design Challenge #1
INFO 287- Design Thinking with Steven Bell

Description

In the first design challenge of the class, we were asked to look at a service and apply IDEO’s design thinking process. I chose a situation from my workplace, which has recently launched online programming in response to being shut down due to the pandemic. The research process started with framing a question, then conducting an emphatic design exercise where the program's team was observed in action and data was gathered. The next step was to identify the program and generate ideas. These ideas were then made tangible and tested for efficacy.

Justification

This design challenge exemplifies my competence in conducting primary research about a service. I followed IDEO’s design thinking process and crafted a research project that generated suggestions for improving online programming.

Conclusion

The information discovered during LIS research projects helps professionals improve current services and programs by identifying the needs and wants of their community. Research also highlights the possibilities for introducing new offerings for the community. By honing their research skills, information professionals can grow in their chosen fields of practice.

Throughout my professional career, I have completed various research projects using various research methods, from basic to applied. I am very interested in learning new research techniques because it will enable me to determine how best to set up the new makerspace I currently work for.

References

Bhandari, P. (2022a, November 24). What Is Quantitative Research? | Definition, Uses & Methods. Scribbr. https://www.scribbr.com/methodology/quantitative-research/

Bhandari, P. (2022b, November 30). Data Collection | Definition, Methods & Examples. Scribbr. https://www.scribbr.com/methodology/data-collection/

Bhandari, P. (2023, January 30). What Is Qualitative Research? | Methods & Examples. Scribbr. https://www.scribbr.com/methodology/qualitative-research/ Jefferson, R. N. (2014). Action Research: Theory and Applications. New Review of Academic Librarianship, 20(2), 91–116. https://doi.org/10.1080/13614533.2014.921536

Powell, R. R. (2018). Research [Print]. In K. Haycock & M.-J. Romaniuk (Eds.), The Portable MLIS (2nd ed., pp. 243–254). Libraries Unlimited.

Streefkerk, R. (2023, January 3). Qualitative vs. Quantitative Research | Differences, Examples & Methods. Scribbr. https://www.scribbr.com/methodology/qualitative-quantitative-research/