Practitioner research: value, impact, and priorities

Themes and trends in library and information research – Canterbury – 8th November 2017
Incorporating a research-minded approach to
professional practice
Opening keynote presentation to the European Association for
Health Information and Libraries, the International Conference of
Animal Health Information Specialists, and the International Clinical
Librarian Conference
University of Edinburgh, Wednesday 10th June 2015
Practitioner research: value, impact, and priorities
Professor Hazel Hall
Edinburgh Napier University

www.napier.ac.uk/iidi
#libresearch17

http://hazelhall.org/about
@hazelh

http://hazelhall.org/CV

Research about
libraries

Research about
business information

Research about
information/knowledge
sharing/management

THEORY!

Academics as teaching
practitioners

2006-2008: Consultations
March 2009: Coalition formally established by 5
founding members
August 2009: Dr Hazel Hall appointed to lead the
implementation, 2 days per week in a seconded
role
Establishment of the LIS Research Coalition
To facilitate a co-ordinated
and strategic approach to LIS
research across the UK
(2009-2012)

http://lisresearch.org
@LISResearch

Heavy use of social media
through Twitter feed still
active in 2017

Publications related to the
general mission of the LIS
Research Coalition

To facilitate a co-ordinated
and strategic approach to LIS
research across the UK
(2009-2012)
To explore the extent to which
LIS research projects
influence practice (2011)
To create outputs to support
the use and execution of
research by librarians and
information scientists (2012)
To develop a UK-wide
network of LIS researchers
(2011-2012)

Publications related to the
DREaM and RiLIES

‘To facilitate a co-ordinated and strategic approach to LIS
research across the UK’
Provision of a formal structure
Improve access to LIS research
Maximise the relevance and impact of LIS research
Main aims
Bring together information about LIS research opportunities and results
Encourage dialogue between research funders
Promote LIS practitioner research and the translation of research outcomes into
practice
Articulate a strategic approach to LIS research
Promote the development of research capacity in LIS

‘To facilitate a co-ordinated and strategic approach to LIS
research across the UK’: relevance to practitioners
Provision of a formal structure
Improve access to LIS research
Maximise the relevance and impact of LIS research
Main aims
Bring together information about LIS research opportunities and results
Encourage dialogue between research funders
Promote LIS practitioner research and the translation of research outcomes into
practice
Articulate a strategic approach to LIS research
Promote the development of research capacity in LIS

Addressing the gap
between research and
practice: see also social
work, nursing, policing…

Williamson (1931)
“RESEARCH: What attitude
does the word evoke…Is the
emotional state produced
pleasant or unpleasant, or a
mixture of these two
elementary reactions?” (p. 1)
“What about research in the
library field? A little sporadic
work here and there…” (p. 5)

86 years later: still calls for
research-led practice and
practitioner-led research

Why research-led practice?
To exploit the existing knowledge-base for service
improvement
For improvements in decision making for services delivery
To enhance the value of prior work
So that it is possible to capitalise on significant investment in prior
research work
To raise the value of previous studies through reuse
To demonstrate the value and impact of service delivery
beyond “libraries are a good thing”
So that investment is maintained and high levels of service continue
“Even though the librarian
may not himself engage
in serious research, he
should be able to grasp
readily and appreciate
the significance of
scientific studies made
by others.” (Williamson,
1931, p. 16)

Why practitioner-led research?
To meet service and organisational priorities
Inform practice, decisions on future service
developments
Demonstrate value and impact

Practitioner-led research: personal benefits
Job satisfaction
Intellectual stimulation and enjoyment
of learning
Pride in enhancing work practice
(Retention)
Career benefits
Strengthened connection with subject
area
Development of independent
profile/reputation, e.g. through
publications
CPD and leadership development
Enhanced ‘peer’ relationships, e.g.
academia
 Career progression

Current areas of research interest: an example
Stated research areas of the
Centre for Social Informatics
Democratic digital engagement
eGovernment
Information policy
Information seeking behaviour and use
Knowledge management
The Information Society
Online communities
Open data and open government
Current project themes
Information literacy of community
councillors
Value and impact of public libraries
Knowledge sharing in the public sector
Workplace learning
Job search as an information seeking
behaviour
Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter posts and
personal reputation management
Makerspaces
Social impact evaluation of digital youth
initiatives

https://drhazelhall.files.wordpress.com/2
017/08/2017_08_csi-flyer2.pdf

See other BAILER profiles: http://www.bailer.ac.uk

Generating research ideas
What’s bothering you?
Is this information literacy programme for
first years making any difference?
What are the ethical considerations
around the employment of volunteers in
our branch libraries?
What is the impact of our library blog on
services provision/relationships with our
users/workload of library staff?

Generating research ideas
What’s hot?
What was the impact of the investment in the
People’s Network 20 years ago?
How will the new look CILIP journal –
Information Professional – be received?
How useful are library disaster recovery
strategies in practice after fire, flooding, cyber-
attack etc?
What can public library services contribute to
debt crisis services?
What are the best ways to operate makerspaces
in libraries?
How do professional librarians engage with
Wikipedia – as users, as creators of content?
What will be the impact of GDPR on libraries?
Ideas generated from 4
pages of CILIP Update!

You only have to start looking…

http://hazelhall.org/publications/

http://lisresearch.org/publications-and-presentations/

All images Hazel’s own except:
Research Way (adapted) by Graham Richardson
Available at https://www.flickr.com/photos/didbygraham/313281474
Licensed under CC BY 2.0
Mind the gap (adapted) by Jeremy Segrott
Available at https://www.flickr.com/photos/126337928@N05/21419985153
Licensed under CC BY 2.0

Contact Hazel Hall
@hazelh
http://hazelhall.org
http://about.me/hazelh
h.hall@napier.ac.uk
+44 (0)131 455 2760
Slides on SlideShare at:
http://slideshare.net/hazelhall

Practitioner research: value, impact, and priorities

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