Primary tabs
You don't need to be an ALA Member to purchase from the ALA Store, but you'll be asked to create an online account/profile during the checkout to proceed. This Web Account is for both Members and non-Members. Note that your ALA Member discount will be applied at the final step of the checkout process.
If you are Tax-Exempt, please verify that your account is currently set up as exempt before placing your order, as our new fulfillment center will need current documentation. Learn how to verify here.
- Description
- Table of Contents
- About the authors
- Reviews
Written by academics and practitioners from a diverse selection of libraries throughout the world, this handbook provides library and information professionals with the guidance they need to undertake research projects in the workplace in order to inform their own practice and improve service delivery. It guides readers step by step through the key phases of planning, doing, and disseminating research. Novices as well as those experienced with evaluations, audits, or research will benefit from the text's thorough and common-sense approach, which includes
- An introduction to the concepts, ethics, and planning stages of research projects
- Coverage of the fundamentals of projects, such as literature review, qualitative and quantitative research methods, data analysis, and research tools
- Pointers on writing up the project, putting the results of the project findings into practice, and disseminating the project to the wider community
- Case studies drawn from a broad range of LIS contexts and applicable to any institution
This is the essential handbook for any librarian or information professional who wants to undertake research in the workplace in order to inform their own practice and the wider evidence base for library and information science. It's also a useful guide for undergraduate and postgraduate LIS students undertaking their final year research project.
Foreword - Hazel Hall PART 1: GETTING STARTED1. What are research, evaluation and audit? - Barbara Sen, Maria J. Grant and Hannah Spring 2. Building confidence - Hannah Spring and Clare McClusky 3. Asking the right question - Sarah Coulbeck and Emma Hadfield 4. Writing your research plan - Miggie Pickton5. Ethics and best practice - Elizabeth Buchanan and Stuart Ferguson PART 2: DOING RESEARCH, EVALUATION AND AUDIT6. Reviewing the literature - Michelle Maden7. Qualitative approaches - Alison Pickard8. Quantitative approaches - Christine Urquhart9. Data analysis - Jenny Craven and Jillian R. Griffiths10. Tools to facilitate your project - Maria J. Grant PART 3: IMPACT OF RESEARCH, EVALUATION AND AUDIT11. Writing up your project findings - Graham Walton and Maria J. Grant 12. Disseminating your project findings - Jane Shelling 13. What next? Applying your findings to practice - Robert Gent and Andrew Cox Closing remarks - Maria J. Grant, Barbara Sen and Hannah Spring
"I strongly recommend this book, for at least one single reading, to my professional colleagues in the working settings. I do hope that they will find it helpful and use it in 'demonstrating their value' as has been suggested by editors in its sub-title. I would also suggest this book as a source book to students and practitioners who aim to write their own text in practice or research. It is step-by-step guide in doing research or working on research project. Final term students in library and information science should not miss reading it. They will definitely like it and will keep it with them while working on the research element of their education"
— Information Research
"Overall I found this an excellent book for a new researcher like myself. It took me through each stage sequentially, and I could look at past and present projects I have worked on, break them down to see room for improvement. It also opened up future opportunities that I could explore. It is written with the practitioner in mind, using excellent case studies and giving the guidance and checklists required to keep the practitioner-researcher on track. This is a book I will constantly be dipping in and out of."
— Australian Library Journal
"To me this book is not so much a one-stop-shop for those undertaking research in LIS; instead its greatest value lies in how it gently steers the reader through the research terrain, highlighting both the pitfalls and best routes to take, and giving them the context and insight to navigate and reach their own destination. Indeed it is likely that once the reader gets involved in any kind of project, this will be just one of several research texts that they reach for. However, it might ultimately end up being the most essential, by being the one that started them on their journey in the first place."
— Libfocus