1. Doing workplace research
Claire Sewell
Research Support Skills Coordinator

2. Outline
o What is workplace research?
o Evidence based practice
o Skills needed to undertake research
o How to overcome barriers to carrying out research
o Pros and cons of research in the workplace

3. Why do research?

4. Why do research?
o Solve a problem
o Prove your case to stakeholders
o Advance your career
o Help others to learn from what you have done

5. Evidence based practice
Problem
Gather
evidence
Critical
appraisal
Apply to
problem
Evaluate

6. Build a research plan

7. What is workplace research?
Workplace research = seeing a problem in the workplace and
investigating ways to solve it
o Formal vs informal
o Theoretical vs practical
o Local vs large scale

8. Step one
Think of a problem
o Have you noticed something at work?
o Could you improve on a work process?
o Think you have a better way to do something?
o Have an idea for a new service?

9. Research outcomes
o Intended outcome can help you form your research
question(s)
o Do you want to change a process? Inform people about
something? Prove a hypothesis?
CAUTION: Don’t let the outcome you want influence your
research

10. Step two
Consider the outcome
o Do you want something to change?
o Are you proving a hypothesis?
o Are you making the case for more resources?

11. Research questions
o What do I want to achieve with this research?
o Will it hold my interest for the length of the project?
o Will the findings be useful to my organisation or the wider
library community?
o Have I made any assumptions which need to be checked?
o Is it doable?
from Workplace Research / Zina O’Leary & Jennifer S. Hunt

12. Step three
Turn it into a research question
o How can you frame your problem into a question that you
can answer?
o Be practical
o Remember that one piece of research can take many
questions

13. Skills for research
o Time management
o Ability to take criticism
o Communication
o Negotiation
o Neutrality
o Research methods

14. Step four
Think about methods
o Choose the right method for your research
o Think about what is manageable
o Consider any issues which might make things difficult

15. Ethical research
o Consider the ethical side of your project
o Do you need to seek permission?
o How can you be an ethical researcher?

16. Step five
Consider the ethics
o Dealing with people often means dealing with sensitive data
o How will you keep participants and data safe?
o Is there an ethical review process at your workplace?

17. Barriers to research
o Finding time
o Lack of resources
o Lack of support
o Political barriers
o Personal barriers

18. Step six
Plan timescales
o Be realistic
o Plan for the unexpected
o Do any external factors influence your timescales?

19. Types of output
o Peer reviewed journals
o Professional press
o Newsletters
o Blogs
o Book/chapter
o White papers/reports
from The Superhero Librarian Roadshow

20. Types of output
o Peer reviewed journals  research pieces
o Professional press  case studies, practical examples
o Newsletters  project write ups
o Blogs  personal reflections, opinion pieces
o Book/chapter  essays
o White papers/reports  work to inform policy
from The Superhero Librarian Roadshow

21. Step seven
Consider communication
o How will you communicate with key stakeholders?
o Is it appropriate to share the results with a wider audience?
o Are you sharing formally or informally?
o Think about professional development opportunities

22. Congratulations!

23. And finally….

24. Pros and cons
Pros
o Insider knowledge
o Higher level of access
o Established level of trust
o Make a contribution to
organisational change
Cons
o Impact on objectivity
o Colleagues may not see you
as a researcher
o Risk of discovering negative
information
o Responsibility for change

25. Questions?

26. Top tips
o Think about scale and what is achievable
o Don’t be afraid to talk about what hasn’t worked
o Combine efforts with a colleague
o Be open about what you are doing
HAVE FUN!

27. Good luck!
Claire Sewell
Research Support Skills Coordinator
Office of Scholarly Communication
ces43@cam.ac.uk