Learning more about qualitative research

Most of us who are librarians by profession have never formally learned research methods and practice. It is not uncommon to encounter librarians who are learning about research methods for the first time, on the job, when faced with the need to do so in order to study some relevant phenomenon.

The need for librarians to be familiar with research methods may not be seen as critical by some, but understanding how to conduct applied research is a skill that can be of great benefit to librarians and others in information settings. This is not to suggest that librarians need to become researchers—in most cases, that is not a part of the job description nor is it necessary. However, when developments in technology and the digital landscape require a closer look, these skills may come in handy.

There are resources for librarians who want to learn more about research practices. Professional organizations are a good place to start. Sensing the need for heightened discussion about the role of research in the modern library, organizations such as the Library Research Roundtable (LRRT) of the American Library Association have recently focused on the topic, with such presentations as “Research from the field: Increasing the competitive edge and impact of libraries’ people, services, and technologies” and “Research to understand users: Issues and approaches” being presented at the 2010 American Library Association Annual Conference (ALA, 2010). LRRT also provides research seminars to help practitioners integrate research practices into everyday library activities, such as the “Integrating practice and research” seminar held in October 2010.

One way for librarians to learn about research is by working with other researchers. Interest in improving these types of collaborations is evidenced by grant opportunities, such as the 2008 research grant funded by the Special Libraries Association (SLA). The project investigated emerging roles for librarians outside of the library: “Several non-traditional roles for information professionals have been established in the sciences to support biomedical research. However, there is little precedent for information professionals to participate in biomedical research collaboration beyond the role of a librarian as an information researcher” (SLA, 2008).

The Association for Information Systems, maintained by noted information systems researcher Michael Myers (2009), has a helpful website which features a section entitled “Qualitative Research in Information Systems.” Librarians might also be interested in the Association for Qualitative Research website (http://www.aqr.org.uk/) (2010), and the Reference and User Services Association’s (RUSA, 2010) “Doing Qualitative Research” website, which also has a number of informative resources. The Intute research clearinghouse website (http://www.intute.ac.uk/cgi-bin/browse.pl?id=120997), which is co-sponsored by the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC), also features a wide range of qualitative resources (Intute, 2010). There are also resources for specific qualitative approaches, such as Barney Glaser’s Grounded Theory Institute website (Dr Glaser is one of the original founders of grounded theory) (2010) (http://www.groundedtheory.org/). Finally, “The Qualitative Report” (http://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/tqrnews2010.html) is a website that provides links to many qualitative resources including conferences, publications, reviews, and the latest research (2010).

Collaboration is perhaps one of the most effective ways for librarians to learn more about and become engaged in research practices, regardless of the methodology. In academic settings, librarians might work with faculty in various departments that have similar interests. The ethnography studies at the University of Rochester and Rutgers University (see Chapter 6) are great examples. In both cases, anthropologists from outside the library were brought in to work with librarians and library staff, to guide the ethnographic process and, most importantly, to teach others as much as possible about ethnographic work. The sharing of knowledge in both cases was just as important as the research projects—the skills learned by the librarians were valuable and applicable beyond the study itself.

Librarians do have a history of partnering with faculty for information literacy and instructional projects (Isbell and Broaddus, 1993; Bruce, 2001; Black et al., 2001; Jackson, 2007), but librarians as research partners in the disciplines are less common. Research issues within library and information settings are obviously different from those in the various disciplines, such as biology and chemistry. However, disciplines such as psychology, information science, communication science, and computer science are areas where there may be shared research questions. Library and Information Studies programs are also a natural alliance. Distinguishing theoretical exploration from research with a practical application is critical— while current research on natural language searching might be highly relevant for librarians (Lee, 2010), research on root finding algorithms (Al-Shawakfa et al., 2010) might not be. Usability issues may be of interest to librarians and to faculty studying human computer interaction; cognitive aspects of information search and retrieval practices may be of interest to psychologists and librarians. Library settings that serve a broader public, such as public libraries, educational institutions, museums, and public service departments may be organizations interested in practical research projects that are focused on community outreach and civic engagement.

In addition to these opportunities for collaboration, Pickton (2007) suggests that there are benefits to the individual, the organization, and to the profession for librarians who conduct research. Veldof (1999) supports this idea, suggesting that research is no longer a luxury: “Creating and analyzing Pareto and control charts, customer satisfaction surveys, needs assessment focus group interviews, and other data methods have since become an integral part of everyday work at the Library” (p. 31).

For those librarians who are interested in learning about research methods as both a practical and an educational endeavor, taking classes at a local college or university might be an option. Research methods courses at the undergraduate or graduate levels typically focus on both quantitative and qualitative approaches, and can be a good way to get started. Classes can also provide an environment to develop and test possible research questions and obtain feedback from instructors. These classes might be offered within Sociology, Psychology, Education, Library and Information Studies, and Information Science departments. Anthropology departments might offer courses on ethnomethodology and ethnographic research. There are also various conferences, workshops, and institutes that might be worth investigating. The International Institute of Qualitative Inquiry (http://www.iiqi.org/); the Current and Emerging Trends in Qualitative Research Workshop (http://www.esomar.org/index.php/workshops-trends-in-qualitative-research.html); and the Ethnographic and Qualitative Research Conference (http://www.cedarville.edu/event/eqrc/) are just a few. There are also library-specific events that librarians can take advantage of. The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) sponsors the Service Quality Evaluation Academy, a five-day workshop which aims to “enhance the pool of librarians with advanced assessment skills by teaching quantitative and qualitative methods for assessing and improving outcomes and service quality” (ARL, 2010). The Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Libraries International Conference (http://www.isast.org/qqml2010.html) is growing in popularity, and the corresponding publication Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Libraries Theory and Applications (Katsirikou and Skiadas, 2009) might also be helpful.

There are many ways for librarians and others to learn more about qualitative research. It can be a time-consuming and intense endeavor, but certainly worth the effort. Librarians fortunate enough to learn more about these methods should make it a point to share their new skills and knowledge with others in their organization, making it more likely that qualitative methods might be considered as a way to investigate research questions and improve user services.