Facets of DREaM: an Analysis of Network Development to Support UK
LIS Research and Researchers
Louise [email protected]
@DrVanvanSenior Lecturer, Loughborough University
• Overview of the presentation:– A bit of background context– Data collection– Some results and their meaning– What does this tell us about DREaM and the LIS
Research Coalition?– And what does it mean for us as individuals?
The Power of Networks
• A brain is a society of very small, simple modules that cannot be said to be thinking, that are not smart in themselves. But when you have a network of them together, out of that arises a kind of smartness. Kevin Kelly
Social Network Analysis
• Social Network Analysis:– A research technique that focuses on relationships
between entities, rather than the attributes of the entities themselves
– Underlying perspective that structure matters – by analysing network composition and the position of an actor within the network, we can gain a better understanding of the world around us
Some example uses in LIS
• Some example uses in LIS:– Citation analysis– Technology diffusion and adoption– Knowledge management
Ethical Issues
• Ethical issues:– Data cannot usually be collected anonymously, but
it can be presented anonymously – but this can reduce the meaning and impact of the presentation
– Relationship ties can be a sensitive issue!– Accurate interpretation of the meaning behind the
data is key
The Data Collection
• Data collection and analysis:– Participants’ ‘awareness of the other’s knowledge,
expertise or experience’– ‘Social or research-related interaction’– Attribute data relating to gender and role– Data analysed using Ucinet software to calculate
network statistics and Netdraw to visualise the results
Workshop 1: Awareness
Workshop 3: Awareness
Workshop 1: Awareness - rolesPublic Library PractitionerAcademic LibrarianHealth Sector PractitionerOther Sector LibrarianPhD StudentAcademic or University ResearcherOther
Workshop 3: Awareness - rolesPublic Library PractitionerAcademic LibrarianHealth Sector PractitionerOther Sector LibrarianPhD StudentAcademic or University ResearcherOther
Workshop 1: Interaction
Workshop 3: Interaction
Workshop 1: Interaction - rolesPublic Library PractitionerAcademic LibrarianHealth Sector PractitionerOther Sector LibrarianPhD StudentAcademic or University ResearcherOther
Workshop 3: Interaction - rolesPublic Library PractitionerAcademic LibrarianHealth Sector PractitionerOther Sector LibrarianPhD StudentAcademic or University ResearcherOther
Statistics: Overall Density
• Statistics: Overall density– Awareness:• Workshop 1: 0.1854, average no. of ties 6.6767• Workshop 3: 0.4216, average no. of ties 13.9118
– Interaction:• Workshop 1: 0.1944, average no. of ties 7.0• Workshop 3: 0.3850, average no. of ties 12.7059
• What this indicates:– The DREaM events have been very successful in
achieving the key aim of ‘developing a UK-wide network of LIS researchers’
– The combination of using social media and bringing people together face to face on a regular basis is an effective mode of network building
– The central role of a few active individuals in maintaining momentum has been key to this success
Some questions and caveats
• A caveat and some questions:– Network analysis is primarily based on
quantitative metrics – we also need to investigate the qualitative indicators that help us to understand our network
– The network patterns suggest network connections have been made successfully – but how do we ensure that these links are sustained and extended?
– How important is it to you that they are?