1. Hildreth: LIS Research Practitioner Research in the Library Literature How Are They Going About it? Charles R. Hildreth, Ph.D. Director, Doctoral Program College of Information & Computer Science Long Island University/C.W. Post Campus ALISE Conference January 22. 2003

2. Hildreth: LIS Research Library Research Seminar II University of Maryland November 2-3, 2001 “Partners & Connections: Research Applied to Practice”

3. Hildreth: LIS Research Library Research Seminar II Statement of Purpose “The Linking of LIS Practitioners and Researchers and the Elevation of the Status and Value of Research in the Library and Information Studies Community are Principle Goals of the Seminar Series.”

4. Hildreth: LIS Research Library Research Seminar II Analysis of 50 Submitted Papers: Variables  Setting or Context  Topic or Issue Area  Research Approach or Aim  Data Collection Methods  Statistical Analysis Employed

5. Hildreth: LIS Research Library Research Seminar II Research Report Analysis: Setting Academic Library(27) General Librarianship(14) Public Library(7) Special(3) School(2)

6. Hildreth: LIS Research Library Research Seminar II Research Report Analysis: Topic Admin/Org/Personnel/Assessmt.(17) Information Technology /Automation(17) Information Seeking Behavior(12) Library Use and User( 7) Library Resource Use/Analysis( 4) Scholarly Publishing/Communications( 8) LIS Research/Educ/Curric. Issues( 7) Library Professional/Career Issues( 3)

7. Hildreth: LIS Research Library Research Seminar II Research Report Analysis: Topic-2 Admin/Org/Personnel(21) Use/User/Info. Behavior(19) Info Tech/Digital Lib/Internet(17) LIS Educ/Profession Issues(10) Scholarly Pub/Communication( 8)

8. Hildreth: LIS Research Library Research Seminar II Research Report Analysis: Strategy/Aim Descriptive(19) Exploratory/Inductive(21) Explanatory/Confirmatory( 1) Evaluative( 4) Unknown/Not Applicable( 7)

9. Hildreth: LIS Research Research Approaches Defined (Russell Schutt: Investigating the Social World) Descriptive Research The “What, Where, How often, How much” questions are typical. Data collected is usually quantitative data. Measurement, sampling, and accurate data reporting are key concerns here. Valid and reliable and measurement instruments and techniques are critical. Explanatory Research Aims to identify causes and effects of phenomena that will explain behavior or selected phenomena with a high degree of probability, and support predictions about this behavior or phenomena. To establish “causal connections” between variables, experiments and/or surveys, that is, quantitative methods, are used.

10. Hildreth: LIS Research Research Approaches Defined (Russell Schutt: Investigating the Social World) Exploratory/Inductive Research “What is going on here?” Search for meaning in actions and activities. Attempts to dig deeper than surface facts, to discover possible interpretations or explanations. Frequently involves qualitative methods and qualitative data. Evaluation Research Like, explanatory research, deals with effects and their causes. But, typically investigates the implementation of and actual effects of social, political, or educational programs and policies.

11. Hildreth: LIS Research Library Research Seminar II Research Report Analysis: Strategy/Aim Descriptive(19) Exploratory/Inductive(21) Explanatory/Confirmatory( 1) Evaluative( 4) Unknown/Not Applicable( 7)

12. Hildreth: LIS Research Library Research Seminar II Research Report Analysis: Data Collection Quantitative(13) Qualitative(20) Both(11) Not Clear( 6)

13. Hildreth: LIS Research Library Research Seminar II Research Report Analysis: Statistics Descriptive(19) Inferential( 1) Both( 3) Not Clear/Unknown(21) Not Applicable( 4)

14. Hildreth: LIS Research Practitioner Research in the Library Literature 1998-2002 Purposive, Stratified Selection of Journals: Three Categories I.Library Function or Service(10) II.Type of Library (Academic, Public, etc.) (9) III.General Librarianship(4)

15. Hildreth: LIS Research Practitioner Research in the Library Literature 1998-2002 Cataloging & Classification Quarterly Collection Management Technical Services Library Resources and Technical Services Serials Review Information Technology and Libraries Reference Services Review Reference Librarian Library Collections, Acquisitions and Technical Services Research Strategies College & Research Libraries Journal of Academic Librarianship Public Libraries Public Library Quarterly Public (& Access) Services Quarterly Special Libraries Bulletin of the Medical Library Association Science & Technology Libraries Behavioral & Social Sciences Librarian Library Trends Library & Information Science Research Journal of Librarianship & Information Science Journal of Documentation

16. Hildreth: LIS Research Practitioner Research in the Library Literature Study Population: 23 LIS journals, 1998- 2002 Sample Frame: 200+ research project reports Random Sample: 100 research articles

17. Hildreth: LIS Research Practitioner Research in the Library Literature Study Variables 1. Topic/Issue 2. Setting/Context 3. Location Site 4. Research Approach/Strategy 5. Data Collection Method 6. Data Analysis Approach 7. Sample Type 8. Statistical Analysis Employed

18. Hildreth: LIS Research Practitioner Research in the Library Literature Published Report Variables 1. Authorship (single/joint) 2. Organization/Readability 3. Critical Content (aim, lit. review, etc.) 4. Procedural depth and detail 5. Visual presentation of data findings 6. Humility factor (study limitations, future)

19. Hildreth: LIS Research Practitioner Research in the Library Literature Analysis Findings: Study Variables Research Topic Frequency/Percent Admin/Org/Personnel10 Operations/Functions 5 IT/Systems 1 Collections/Resources12 Services19 Users 7 Info. Seeking/Use17 Indexes/Bibliographies 6 IR/Database Searching 4 Publishing/Communication 5 Citation Analysis 1 Cooperation/Networks/Consortia 0 Other (e.g., professional issues)13

20. Hildreth: LIS Research Practitioner Research in the Library Literature Analysis Findings: Study Variables Research Topic (Collapsed) Frequency/Percent Admin/Technical/Ops34 Use/User Behavior47 Professional Issues13 Publishing/Communication 5

21. Hildreth: LIS Research Practitioner Research in the Library Literature Analysis Findings: Study Variables SettingFrequency/Percent Academic64 Public 7 Special 5 General24 Location Site Single Site33 Site Independent67

22. Hildreth: LIS Research Practitioner Research in the Library Literature Analysis Findings: Study Variables Research Approach/Aim Frequency/Percent Descriptive85 Exploratory25 Explanatory22 Evaluative 4 Multiple35

23. Hildreth: LIS Research Practitioner Research in the Library Literature Analysis Findings: Study Variables Data Collection Methods Frequency/Percent Survey62 Observation & Description13 Semi-structured Interview10 Experiment 5 Computer Logging 2 Bibliometric/Citation Analysis14 Content Analysis 8 Case Study 5 Delphi 0 Other12 Multiple Methods31

24. Hildreth: LIS Research Practitioner Research in the Library Literature Analysis Findings: Study Variables Data Collection Approach Frequency/Percent Quantitative71 Qualitative10 Both19

25. Hildreth: LIS Research Practitioner Research in the Library Literature Analysis Findings: Study Variables Type of Sample Frequency/Percent Randomized, probability17 Non-probability75 Unclear, not applicable 8

26. Hildreth: LIS Research Practitioner Research in the Library Literature Analysis Findings: Study Variables Statistical Analysis Frequency/Percent Descriptive73 Inferential 7 Both 9 Not applicable11 Association/Correlation19 Hypothesis Tested 5

27. Hildreth: LIS Research Practitioner Research in the Library Literature Analysis Findings: Report Variables Organization/Readability/Content Frequency/Percent Well-structured, identifiable sections89 Research question/aim clearly stated91 Literature review present81

28. Hildreth: LIS Research Practitioner Research in the Library Literature Analysis Findings: Report Variables Procedural Depth and Detail Frequency/Percent Sample selection and makeup88 Detailed data collection procedures93 Data-supported analysis of findings86

29. Hildreth: LIS Research Practitioner Research in the Library Literature Analysis Findings: Report Variables Visual Presentation of Data Frequency/Percent Tables59 Charts (Bar, Pie, Histogram) 7 Both18 None 7 Not applicable 9

30. Hildreth: LIS Research Practitioner Research in the Library Literature Analysis Findings: Report Variables “Humility Factor” Frequency/Percent Reliability/validity addressed18 Study limitations addressed25 Future research to be done38

31. Hildreth: LIS Research Practitioner Research in the Library Literature Analysis Findings: Summary LIS Practitioner Researchers - are largely academic librarians - address a wide variety of research topics - write well-structured, readable research reports - but seldom use charts or graphs to present data findings - conduct less exploratory, qualitative research than academic researchers - conduct very little program or policy evaluation research

32. Hildreth: LIS Research Practitioner Research in the Library Literature Analysis Findings: Summary (cont) LIS Practitioner Researchers - rely heavily on survey, interview, and structured observation methods - but do not appreciate the importance of random, probability samples - and are generally unsophisticated (undertrained?) in the use of statistical data analysis - and, finally, seem to be unaware of the need to address study shortcomings, limitations, and reliability or validity issues.

33. Hildreth: LIS Research Practitioner Research in the Library Literature Key LIS Research Literature Studies: Crawford, Gregory A. The Research Literature of Academic Librarianship: A Comparison of College & Research Libraries and Journal of Academic Librarianship. College & Research Libraries, May 1999, 224-230. Dimitroff, Alexander. Research for Special Libraries: A Quantitative Analysis of the Literature. Special Libraries, 86(4), 1995, 256-264. Feehan, Patricia E., W. Lee Gragg II, W. Michael Havener, and Diane D. Kester. Library and Information Science Research: An Analysis of the 1984 Journal Literature. Library & Information Science Research, 9. 1987. 173-185. Hernon, Peter. The Elusive Nature of Research in LIS. In C. McClure and P. Hernon, eds., Library and Information Science Research: Perspectives and Strategies for Improvement. Norwood, NJ: Ablex, 1991, 3-14. Jarvelin, Kalervo and Pertte Vakkari. Content Analysis of Research Articles in Library and Information Science. Library & Information Science Research, 12, 1990, 395-421. Julien, Heidi. A Content Analysis of Recent Information Needs and Uses Literature. Library & Information Science Research, 18(1), 1996, 53-65. McKechnie, Lynne E.F., Lynda Baker, Martha Greenwood, and Heidi Julien. Research Method Trends in Human Information Behaviour Literature. Paper presented at: ISIC-2002: Information Seeking in Context. The Fourth International Conference on Information Needs, Seeking and Use in Different Contexts. Lisbon, Portugal, September 11 - 13, 2002. Powell, Ronald R. Recent Trends in Research: A Methodological Essay. Library & Information Science Research, 21(1), 1999, 91-119. Van House, Nancy A. Assessing the Quantity, Quality, and Impact of LIS Research. Library & Information Science Research, Norwood, NJ: Ablex, 1991, 85-100. Wang, P. Methodologies and Methods for User Behavioral Research. In M. Williams, ed. Annual Review of Information Science and Technology, 34. Medford, NJ: Information Today, 1999, 53-99.