Supporting research by becoming a researcher

Miggie Pickton

ALISS Summer Conference

Senate House, London

30th July 2013

Outline

• What is research?

– Academic and practitioner research

• What do researchers do?

– The research lifecycle

• How does being research active help you to support others?

– Benefits of engaging in the process

– Using the outputs and outcomes

• Getting started as a practitioner researcher

What does research mean to you?

Find new knowledge

Establish facts

Increase understanding

Systematic enquiry

Solve problems

SynthesiseGenerate and test theories Investigate

Conduct experiments

Use rigorous methodology

What is research?

Research: some definitions

• “The systematic investigation into and study of materials and sources in order to establish facts and reach new conclusions” (Oxford Dictionaries)

• “Research is a systematic enquiry which is reported in a form which allows the research methods and the outcomes to be accessible to others” (Allison,1995, p.6)

• “Research can be defined as the attempt to derive generalisable new knowledge by addressing clearly defined questions with systematic and rigorous methods” (Department of Health, 2005, p.3)

Academic vs practitioner research‘Academic’ research

• Problem solving or curiosity driven - purpose is to create new knowledge (or confirm existing knowledge)

• Grounded in disciplinary context (literature, theory, methodology, interpretation)

• Make political, societal, economic... ‘impact’ (REF)

• Audience: other scholars, policy makers, practitioners

• Produce outputs of publishable quality (peer review)

‘Practitioner’ research• Focused on current problem

or need

• Pragmatic approach to theory and methodology – often investigative or evaluative; also used for benchmarking

• Results inform practice – support decision-making, policy and strategy for benefit & impact

• Audience: colleagues, managers, service users

• Dissemination often (unfortunately) a secondary consideration 6

What do researchers do?

Identify new research area

Produce research proposal

Bid for funding

Conduct literature

review

Collect and analyse data

Write up

Disseminate

Evaluate and review

The research lifecycle:

How does being a researcher help you support others?

Benefits accrue as soon as you become research active, for example through:

• Understanding the research process

• Becoming familiar with research tools

• Developing empathy with researchers

• Increasing your own credibility among researchers

• Building collaborative relationships

... and of course further benefits arise from the new knowledge gained and its application to service development

Understanding the research process

[An academic colleague...] “wanted to run some focus groups in partner colleges and wanted advice. Fortunately, I'd just done some reading on managing focus groups for my own research, so was able to recommend an excellent practical textbook and talk through some logistical issues - and then... was able to give her advice from my own current experience on formulating good questions.” (Researcher 4)

Re current awareness: “Once you’ve done it you realise what they’re looking for.” (Researcher 1)

“Having conducted research projects myself I understand the process and I can target my services at researchers’ needs at each stage.”

Familiarity with research tools and resources

“Without my own research work, I would have located the textbook but wouldn't have been able to recommend it from personal experience, nor had the personal recent knowledge which made me feel confident in offering her suggestions and advice.” (Researcher 4)

“They appreciate advice on bibliographies and maintaining these... having done it yourself you understand the importance.” (Researcher 1)

“I show them my own ResearchGate profile and blog. They are able to see the potential impact these can make.” (Researcher 2)

Empathy with researchers

“Having published my own articles and seen them cited I can now use this experience in my teaching.” (Researcher 2)

“Understanding their concepts and terminology enable me to engage with them at a deeper level” (Researcher 3)

“Knowing that I have had experience of research makes a difference to the kind of questions they ask... more are related to my personal experience” (Researcher 2)

“Having been a journal editor myself I understand the challenges of building and maintaining a scholarly publication. This is invaluable in supporting researchers wishing to do the same.”

Credibility among researchers

“Authority comes because they know you’ve been there and done it.” (Researcher 1)

Being known as a researcher means “they are a lot more likely to come and talk to me about their research.” (Researcher 3)

“We’ve come a long way from the perception that I am simply the person that orders books” (Researcher 3)

“You come to be seen as an equal partner; not serving, but contributing.” (Researcher 5)

“Having bid for and won external funding gives me kudos among the researchers that I support.”

“I was flattered to find out that the School of Education wanted my work to be included in the REF.” (Researcher 2)

Building collaborative relationships

“Not only have I been into colleagues' lectures to plug my project and try to recruit students for surveys and focus groups etc, but having the imprimatur of some research behind me, even a small-scale project, makes it easier to ask colleagues to allow me, say, into their lectures for short chunks of co-teaching ” (Researcher 4)

Re the development of an online interface: “As a result of our close working relationship I was able to go to the Faculty and ask for students to test the interface. The result was a joint paper with the academic.” (Researcher 5)

“Involving other researchers in my bids for funding has raised my own profile and as a result I have been invited to join other projects.”

Benefits from outputs and outcomes

• Evidence:

– to support and justify decision-making and policy

– to solve problems

– to demonstrate service value

• ...ultimately leading to improvements in service (making an impact)

• Greater engagement with your user community – by understanding their perspective, showing an interest in their needs and responding to their concerns

• Recognition and respect (within and beyond the institution)

Research with impact

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Students’ use of learning spaces

Users’ experience of e-

books

Reading lists as pedagogical toolsRepositories and

digital preservation

Transitions in Higher Education

Reading groups for community engagement

Mobile learning

Scaffolding information

literacyDelivery of maths tutorials

onlineResearchers’ data

management practice

Becoming a researcher: getting started • Identify a potential research topic – it’s OK to start small

• Make a case for your project – convince your line manager of the need and benefit of it (it will help if your research is relevant to your day job and supports organisational priorities)

• Write a research proposal/plan (courses and guidance are available e.g. Eve, 2008; Pickton, forthcoming)

• Consider:

– Collaborating with partners (e.g. academic staff; colleagues from other support departments; professional colleagues from other institutions – anyone with whom you have shared goals) – especially if you are a first-timer

– Combining your project with a professional or academic qualification (e.g. PGCTHE, Chartership)

– Submitting a bid for funding – externally (e.g. HEA, JISC, LIRG) or internally (e.g. Institutional L&T awards)

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Summary and conclusion

1. Research means different things to different people and practitioner research can be just as valuable as the academic variety.

2. We already have some knowledge of the research process from our experience of supporting researchers.

3. We now know from those who have done it that the act of doing research brings enormous benefit to our roles in supporting researchers.

4. The outputs and outcomes of practitioner research projects also directly inform and benefit our service.

5. So what’s not to like?

• Dr Karen McAulay is a Music Librarian and musicologist of 18th-19th century Scottish music. Karen is currently seconded to work part time on an AHRC-funded project.

• Moira Bent is a Faculty Liaison Librarian and National Teaching Fellow. Her interests include information literacy development, international students support and research support.

• Clare McCluskey is Academic Liaison Librarian for Education and Theology and a University Teaching Fellow. Clare belongs to a university research group with which she engages both professionally and as an active researcher.

• Hazel Rothera is conducting a Learning and Teaching Fellowship project on the use of a new VLE to support students’ information literacy. She is Subject Team Leader and Subject Librarian for Education.

• Dr Graham Walton is Head of Planning and Resources at Loughborough University Library and an Honorary Research Fellow with the Department of Information Science.

I am grateful to the following practitioner researchers for sharing their experiences with me:

References

• Allison, B. (1995) Research methods. Leicester: De Montfort University. [Online] Available from: http://dc356.4shared.com/doc/iQD3_b0D/preview.html [accessed 24.07.13].

• Department of Health (2005) Research Governance Framework for Health and Social Care. 2nd Ed. [Online] Available from: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/139565/dh_4122427.pdf [accessed 24.7.13].

• Eve, J. (2008) Writing a research proposal: planning and communicating your research ideas effectively. Library and Information Research, 32(102), pp.18-28.

• Pickton, M. (forthcoming) Writing your project plan. In: Grant, M.J., Sen, B. And Spring, H. Research, evaluation and audit: ten practical steps to demonstrating your value. London: Facet Publishing.

• Rankin, C. (2013) Research and the practitioner.What do we mean by practitioner research? Presented to: Library and Learning Services Research Summer School, University of Northampton, 17 June 2013.