Competency L
Understand the nature of research, research methods and research findings; retrieve, evaluate and synthesize scholarly and professional literature for informed decision-making by specific client groups
Throughout my time at SLIS research has been the backbone of each paper I have written and discussion that I have engaged in. The purpose of research is to test a hypothesis using proper research technique and report on the findings that are found after evaluating the data and reporting on it. The nature of research is important for all disciplines to learn and grow based on empirical measures. While a lot of time can be spent on discussing opinions and interpretations on a hypothesis until research is conducted to determine the validity of the hypothesis it is merely speculation. Conducting research is the domain of all professionals and there are two types that can be conducted. Primary research involves creating a hypothesis and utilizing research methods to collect data, analyze it and report on it. Secondary research is an easier task as it involves collecting already conducted research and analyzing that for a particular hypothesis and reporting on it. Both are essential in discovering new insights. The purpose of research is not just to investigate a hypothesis and develop empirical evidence on it but also to share it within the academic community so that more discussion can occur and new revelations can be made. Research methods are the underpinning concepts that must be followed to conduct accurate, ethical, and thorough research projects. Research findings entails reporting on the obtained information and publishing it through different sources such as journals and open access repositories so that further discussion and peer review can occur. As part of this program each course involved retrieving a variety of different scholarly and professional research articles, evaluating and synthesizing those works and presenting them to different audiences for different purposes.
My entire time with SLIS involved writing a variety of different papers for different classes and reporting on research based on the provided topic. Not only information professionals but many other careers must evaluate and synthesize swaths of information into a concise article to share ideas quickly and easily. In my own experience I noticed that the University that I worked for lacked supplemental help resources for the many databases that we subscribed to. I scoured databases for information on providing access to additional tutorials on information literacy with results that presented increased academic success. I presented the concept to my manager and she was thrilled to present it to our digital library department. To my chagrin the department was already beginning to work with vendors on providing necessary support materials for students and interactive modules within the learning management system. While not as beneficial as I hoped I managed to impress my manager and convey that I was willing to go the extra mile to improve the experience at the university.
Another example is the experience I had in my seminar course involving open source and the open access movement. The task was to conduct research on examples of open movements analyze and synthesize the information and report on the data. Once completed those research findings would be published to a class journal a type of open repository for journal articles without an associated fee. For that experience I investigated the current and future of open online universities and how they could continue to be sustainable when offering open educational resources. Not only would I be writing a paper for my instructor but my classmates as well as proponents of the open-access movement. It was a real-world experience in developing a research idea, evaluating scholarly and professional sources, synthesizing it and responding to peer reviews. The two peers that commented on the article provided solid advice that helped guide the final draft in a clearer narrative. That paper explored the concept of Open Universities and used current research to describe current popular versions and how they could plan for the future. The purpose of the article was to share with the class examples of universities that do not place limits on acceptance and provide education to a wide geographical assortment of locations. This type of research is considered secondary as the information is culled from other research articles and no first hand research was taken.
The course on research methods was eye-opening for me in understanding what primary research consists of. Not only that but the entire process is involved and practicing well-done research requires following many different steps in an appropriate order. The process of research methods involves many different variables. Taking care to choose the right processes is essential to creating good primary research. Starting with making sure that the research if conducted on humans is approved by the institutional review board, how to choose a sample, how to analyze that sample utilizing statistical analysis methods such as chi-square or ANOVA, and portraying the information into a concise narrative. Each of these topics covers many different concerns that planners must factor in when considering the research they are planning. The course offered by SJSU SLIS on research methods was incredibly helpful for explaining what is involved in conducting research. The course was an incredibly helpful introduction to research methods and utilizing statistical analysis with the program SPSS, though now named PASW. One essential method I learned from the course was the thought and measures that go into developing a survey based on a hypothesis and writing questions in a manner that are easily codified into information that can be analyzed statistically.
As a librarian I have successfully illustrated the ability to evaluate and synthesize research articles, review the concepts of research methods written about and suggest methods in future research projects, and share these findings with a variety of different audiences. I know that any organization would benefit from the skills that I have learned, as research abilities are not restricted to only academic areas. All industries benefit from turning the empirical eye upon a hypothesis to learn more about the world around them and to improve their understanding.