LIS403, The Role of Research

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LIS403, The Role of Research

• Spring 2005
• G. Benoit, Ph.D.
• Associate Professor
• Simmons College, GSLIS

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About the class

• Thematic-based
• Each theme represents an aspect of research that
  librarians should know
• Assignment at the end of each theme
• Readings, slides, discussion, hands-on
• Well progress as needs/interests dictate
• If theres something youd like to explore, or
  you have questions, feel free to ask!

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About the class

• Themes
• Craft of research
• Critiquing research
• Trends in LIS research
• Analysis of data
• Practice of research

From General To Specific LIS needs
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Life cycle of research
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Class web page

• http//web.simmons.edu/benoit/LIS403/index.html
• Assignments page
• Detailed instructions
• Guidelines
• Due dates
• Readings
• All linked to our homepage
• Babbie as alternative to Powell

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Any questions, thoughts, ideas?Expectations of
the course?
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What is research?

• Definitions of research
• Why research is important
• Overview of research process
• Why the course is valuable

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What is research?

• Significant difference between everyday use of
  the term and the scientific or academic use
• Oxford English Dictionary
• the act of searching (closely and carefully) for
  or after a specified thing or person
• a search or investigation directed to the
  discovery of some fact by careful consideration
  or study of a subject a course of critical or
  scientific inquiry

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What is research?

• Dangerous when people or organization does
  casual research (definition no. 1) but implies
• Theyve done scientific research (def. 2)
• Results should therefore be taken as fact
• And that the results are reliable and valid.
• In fact, critical or scientific inquiry (def. 2)
  is a formal process, intended to produce results
  that are reliable, valid, replicable, and
  contribute to existing knowledge.

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What is not research

• The term research often is used for things, on
  their own at least, are not true research
• Going to the library to look up something (e.g.,
  a literature search)
• Finding facts to prove something
• How I did it papers
• Publications that use data
• information gathering
• Searching for data when writing an essay
• Compiling facts in written form

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General definition/criteria

• Research systematic process of collecting and
  analyzing data or information in order to
  increase understanding of a phenomenon.
• Inquiry process
• Formal process of problem solving
• Set of procedures or steps
• Originates with a question or problem
• Statement of a goal and a specific plan of
  research approach (cont)

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General definition/criteria

• Often breaks down the overall problem into
  manageable sub-problems
• Requires the
• Collection,
• Interpretation, and
• Analysis of data
• Often is an iterative process
• Research builds on previous research
• Reflected in the literature review section

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Why is research important?

• What do you think?

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Why is research important?

• Formal research can guard against the dangers of
  casual inquiry
• Fundamental tendency of people to
• Accept what we hear when presented as facts
• Predict future events based on causality
• Accept tradition as fact
• Accept authority
• Inaccurate observation
• Overgeneralizations
• Selective observation

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Why is research important?

• Formal research can also guard against specific
  faults of the researcher
• Opinions about the way things should be
• Applications of the misconceptions
• Careless or faulty methods and observations
• Ego involvement
• Example from medical research

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Why is research important?

• Formal research is important also in providing a
  solid foundation for the
• Discovery and creation of knowledge
• Theory building
• Testing, confirmation, revision, refutation of
  knowledge or theory
• Investigation of a problem for local decision
  making
• Advance a discipline or field
• Leads to improvements and advancements
• Promotion and tenure
• Research grants

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Overview of the research process

• Research is an inquiry process with specific
  components (Hernon, 2001)
• Reflective inquiry
• Problem statement
• Literature review and theoretical framework
• Logical structure
• Objectives
• Research question (the problem) or hypotheses
  (when appropriate)

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Overview of the research process

• Procedures
• Research design
• Data collection methods
• Data analysis
• Gathering, processing, and analyzing data

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Overview of the research process

• Issues of reliability, validity, credibility,
  confirmation
• Presentation of findings
• Accepted format for professional publication
• Adequate explanation of procedures and statistics
• Effective use of graphics
• Adequate interpretation and alternatives
• Examples?

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Overview of the research process

• There are other ways to present the components
  and steps in scientific research
• Important point is the formal framework
• Distinguishes research from the casual use of the
  term
• Enables such research to have real value (now and
  for unanticipated purposes)

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Why is this course important?

• Were surrounded by data, stats, figures, claims
  that appear to be facts because they appear to
  be the result of research
• Mass media reports that define various
  characteristics of Americans by polls or
  surveys we should wonder
• Is it a representative sample?
• Is the sample size adequate?
• Did the researcher ask leading questions?

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Why is this course important?

• As LIS students professionals
• Develop an understanding of the role of research
  LIS
• To evaluate research (critical consumers)
• Does it have credence?
• Does it have value?
• Can you use it in your job?
• To get an idea of your own research
• Should be useful in your daily life!

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Recap

• Class mechanics
• Overview of research as a formal process
• Specific steps involved in the craft of research
• Specific influences upon the researcher
• Consumers must be aware of weaknesses
• Well go in detail by dividing research into
  theme
• Concur?