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Book Description

Qualitative Research and the Modern Library examines the present-day role and provides suggestions for areas that might be suited to this type of research for the purposes of evaluation. The author discusses how the results from such research might be applied, and the overall impact of using this type of research to inform development of a more user-centred organisation. The book provides a thoughtful look at the implications of using qualitative research to inform decision-making processes within libraries and is written by an author and library researcher with international experience in various types of libraries, implementing/improving programs and services, and supporting user needs.

  • Fills a gap in the current literature that hasn’t been found in journal articles written on this topic
  • Contains practical applications of qualitative research principles, with practical examples of select projects
  • Written by an author and library researcher with international experience in various types of libraries, including work with large-scale qualitative studies, research design and evaluation of library services

Table of Contents

  1. Cover image
  2. Title page
  3. Table of Contents
  4. Copyright
  5. Dedication
  6. List of figures and tables
  7. Acknowledgments
  8. Author biography
  9. Introduction
  10. Chapter 1: A brief overview of qualitative research
    1. Abstract:
    2. A description of qualitative research
    3. Gathering the data
    4. A little bit about grounded theory
    5. A little bit about analyzing the data
    6. Challenges to working with qualitative data
  11. Chapter 2: Examples of qualitative research in non-library settings
    1. Abstract:
    2. Becoming a student: research in an academic environment
    3. A.C. Nielsen Company as an example of rich media research
    4. Qualitative research in nursing
    5. Qualitative research in medicine and mental health disciplines
  12. Chapter 3: Ethnographic research practices in library settings
    1. Abstract:
    2. Key concepts of ethnographic research
    3. Historical application within libraries and information settings
    4. Examples of recent ethnographic research in library environments
  13. Chapter 4: Eyes wide open: using trends, professional literature, and users to create a research canvas in libraries
    1. Abstract:
    2. Generational differences and the digital landscape
    3. The state of the research and academic library
    4. Understanding the role of technology through research
    5. The matrix: a tool for the beginning
  14. Chapter 5: Inside the mind of the user: qualitative approaches to understanding user experience in library settings
    1. Abstract:
    2. The self and user experience
    3. Design, broken-ness, and the library user experience
    4. Useit.com on UX research
    5. Flow as an element of the user experience
  15. Chapter 6: Narrowing the field: using qualitative approaches to explore specific areas of interest
    1. Abstract:
    2. The library is still scary—a new look at reference by way of an old concept
    3. Still with us: the library website (The Rutgers Study)
    4. Disruption and the information seeker
  16. Chapter 7: What about us? Using qualitative methods to explore the library as workplace
    1. Abstract:
  17. Chapter 8: A place in the world: qualitative research as a way to study global libraries
    1. Abstract:
    2. Why use a qualitative approach?
    3. The role of the rural village library
    4. Elements of the project’s methods
    5. What the content analysis revealed
  18. Chapter 9: Learning more about qualitative research
    1. Abstract:
  19. Chapter 10: Qualitative research as a way to explore change in the modern world
    1. Abstract:
  20. Index
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