practitioner research: value, impact, and priorities

Themes and trends in library and information research – Canterbury – 8th November 2017

Incorporating a research-minded approach to

professional practice

Opening keynote presentation to the European Association for

Health Information and Libraries, the International Conference of

Animal Health Information Specialists, and the International Clinical

Librarian Conference

University of Edinburgh, Wednesday 10th June 2015

Practitioner research: value, impact, and priorities

Professor Hazel Hall

Edinburgh Napier University

Themes and trends in library and information research – Canterbury – 8th November 2017www.napier.ac.uk/iidi

#libresearch17


http://hazelhall.org/about

@hazelh

http://hazelhall.org/about

https://twitter.com/hazelh


http://hazelhall.org/CV



Research about

libraries


Research about

business information


Research about

information/knowledge

sharing/management


THEORY!


Academics as teaching

practitioners


2006-2008: Consultations

March 2009: Coalition formally established by 5 founding members

August 2009: Dr Hazel Hall appointed to lead the implementation, 2 days per week in a seconded role

Establishment of the LIS Research Coalition

To facilitate a co-ordinated

and strategic approach to LIS

research across the UK

(2009-2012)

http://lisresearch.org/membership/

http://hazelhall.org/

http://lisresearch.org/

http://www.mla.gov.uk/

http://www.mla.gov.uk/


http://lisresearch.org

@LISResearch

http://lisresearch.org/

http://www.twitter.com/LISResearch


Heavy use of social media

through Twitter feed still

active in 2017

http://twitter.com/lisresearch


Publications related to the

general mission of the LIS

Research Coalition


To facilitate a co-ordinated

and strategic approach to LIS

research across the UK

(2009-2012)

To explore the extent to which

LIS research projects

influence practice (2011)

To create outputs to support

the use and execution of

research by librarians and

information scientists (2012)

To develop a UK-wide

network of LIS researchers

(2011-2012)


Publications related to the

DREaM and RiLIES


‘To facilitate a co-ordinated and strategic approach to LIS research across the UK’

Provision of a formal structure

Improve access to LIS research

Maximise the relevance and impact of LIS research

Main aims

Bring together information about LIS research opportunities and results

Encourage dialogue between research funders

Promote LIS practitioner research and the translation of research outcomes into

practice

Articulate a strategic approach to LIS research

Promote the development of research capacity in LIS


‘To facilitate a co-ordinated and strategic approach to LIS research across the UK’: relevance to practitioners

Provision of a formal structure

Improve access to LIS research

Maximise the relevance and impact of LIS research

Main aims

Bring together information about LIS research opportunities and results

Encourage dialogue between research funders

Promote LIS practitioner research and the translation of research outcomes into

practice

Articulate a strategic approach to LIS research

Promote the development of research capacity in LIS


Addressing the gap

between research and

practice: see also social

work, nursing, policing…


Williamson (1931)

“RESEARCH: What attitude

does the word evoke…Is the

emotional state produced

pleasant or unpleasant, or a

mixture of these two

elementary reactions?” (p. 1)

“What about research in the

library field? A little sporadic

work here and there…” (p. 5)

http://www.jstor.org/stable/40039624?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents


86 years later: still calls for

research-led practice and

practitioner-led research


Why research-led practice?

To exploit the existing knowledge-base for service improvement

For improvements in decision making for services delivery

To enhance the value of prior work

So that it is possible to capitalise on significant investment in prior

research work

To raise the value of previous studies through reuse

To demonstrate the value and impact of service delivery beyond “libraries are a good thing”

So that investment is maintained and high levels of service continue

“Even though the librarian

may not himself engage

in serious research, he

should be able to grasp

readily and appreciate

the significance of

scientific studies made

by others.” (Williamson,

1931, p. 16)


Why practitioner-led research?

To meet service and organisational priorities

Inform practice, decisions on future service

developments

Demonstrate value and impact


Practitioner-led research: personal benefits

Job satisfaction

Intellectual stimulation and enjoyment

of learning

Pride in enhancing work practice

(Retention)

Career benefits

Strengthened connection with subject

area

Development of independent

profile/reputation, e.g. through

publications

CPD and leadership development

Enhanced ‘peer’ relationships, e.g.

academia

Career progression


Current areas of research interest: an example

Stated research areas of the Centre for Social Informatics

Democratic digital engagement

eGovernment

Information policy

Information seeking behaviour and use

Knowledge management

The Information Society

Online communities

Open data and open government

Current project themes

Information literacy of community

councillors

Value and impact of public libraries

Knowledge sharing in the public sector

Workplace learning

Job search as an information seeking

behaviour

Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter posts and

personal reputation management

Makerspaces

Social impact evaluation of digital youth

initiatives


https://drhazelhall.files.wordpress.com/2

017/08/2017_08_csi-flyer2.pdf

https://drhazelhall.files.wordpress.com/2017/08/2017_08_csi-flyer2.pdf


See other BAILER profiles: http://www.bailer.ac.uk

http://www.bailer.ac.uk


Generating research ideas

What’s bothering you?

Is this information literacy programme for

first years making any difference?

What are the ethical considerations

around the employment of volunteers in

our branch libraries?

What is the impact of our library blog on

services provision/relationships with our

users/workload of library staff?


Generating research ideas

What’s hot?

What was the impact of the investment in the

People’s Network 20 years ago?

How will the new look CILIP journal –

Information Professional – be received?

How useful are library disaster recovery

strategies in practice after fire, flooding, cyber-

attack etc?

What can public library services contribute to

debt crisis services?

What are the best ways to operate makerspaces

in libraries?

How do professional librarians engage with

Wikipedia – as users, as creators of content?

What will be the impact of GDPR on libraries?

Ideas generated from 4

pages of CILIP Update!


You only have to start looking…


http://hazelhall.org/publications/

https://hazelhall.org/publications/


http://lisresearch.org/publications-and-presentations/

https://lisresearch.org/publications-and-presentations/


All images Hazel’s own except:

Research Way (adapted) by Graham Richardson

Available at https://www.flickr.com/photos/didbygraham/313281474

Licensed under CC BY 2.0

Mind the gap (adapted) by Jeremy Segrott

Available at https://www.flickr.com/photos/126337928@N05/21419985153

Licensed under CC BY 2.0

https://www.flickr.com/photos/didbygraham/313281474

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/126337928@N05/21419985153

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/


Contact Hazel Hall

@hazelh

http://hazelhall.org

http://about.me/hazelh

[email protected]

+44 (0)131 455 2760

Slides on SlideShare at:

http://slideshare.net/hazelhall

http://hazelhall.org/

http://about.me/hazelh

mailto:[email protected]

http://slideshare.net/hazelhall

Themes and trends in library and information research – Canterbury – 8th November 2017

Incorporating a research-minded approach to

professional practice

Opening keynote presentation to the European Association for

Health Information and Libraries, the International Conference of

Animal Health Information Specialists, and the International Clinical

Librarian Conference

University of Edinburgh, Wednesday 10th June 2015

Practitioner research: value, impact, and priorities

Professor Hazel Hall

Edinburgh Napier University

practitioner research: value, impact, and priorities

Education