IMLS- Growing Young Minds June 19, 2013
- Blog: Student-Designed Apps Address Real University Research Needs June 19, 2013
- Inaugural Class of National Digital Stewardship Residents Selected June 19, 2013
- MEDIA ADVISORY: Report Highlights Roles of Libraries and Museums in School Success June 17, 2013
- Blog: Pilot Project Serves Free Summer Lunch to Kids in Libraries June 17, 2013
- Blog: AAHC Forum: Collections Management Initiatives: Big Things Are Happening at the Harvey B. Gantt Center June 13, 2013
Author Archives: raylyons
Putting the Best Findings Forward
I think I’m getting jaded. I am beginning to wonder whether lobbying for balanced reporting of evaluation and research findings is a waste of time. With voices more influential than mine weighing in on the opposite side, I’m having trouble … Continue reading
Paved with Good Intentions
It never hurts to revisit the basics of a method that we’ve chosen to apply to a task we want to accomplish or a problem needing solved. So, the recent announcement of the Library Edge benchmarks is a good occasion … Continue reading
Bad Arrangements To Place Before School Children
To begin this episode I want to introduce you to a couple of historical ideas on best practices in graphical data presentation—or using the more modern term, data visualization. (The peculiar title I’ve chosen comes from this history. Read on … Continue reading
Data Detour
Nowadays libraries aspire to be data-driven. Almost everyone agrees that collecting and using data to improve organizational performance is a good thing. Implied in the various regimens promoting this idea (library assessment, managing-for-results, evidence-based practice, quality management, etc.) is the … Continue reading
Posted in Advocacy, Measurement, Numeracy, Probability, Statistics
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Oh The Weather Outside Is Frightful!
The graphic below is a variant of one I blogged about in my prior entry. Its designers added a storm to create what might be called an inclement tug-of-war. This version of the graphic is from the Libraries Connect Communities: … Continue reading
Posted in Advocacy, Measurement, Statistics
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Statistical Hearsay
I admit it. I’ve been suffering from a case of statistician’s block. No inspiring ideas for this blog have presented themselves since July. Well, actually, a couple did surface but I resisted them. Very recently, though, the irresistible “infographic” shown … Continue reading
Posted in Advocacy, Data vizualization, Measurement
Tagged data comparisons, library measures, output measures, survey research
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Honest-to-Goodness Transformation
A while back, in his 21st Century Library Blog Steve Matthews commented on some data appearing in a report entitled The Library in the City published by the PEW Charitable Trusts Philadelphia Research Initiative. Dr. Matthews was puzzled by an … Continue reading
Posted in Data vizualization, Measurement, Statistics
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Assessment’s Top Models
I recently attended a library webinar where the question of the difference between outputs and outcomes came up. The main idea was that outputs are programs and services an organization delivers, whereas outcomes are changes that occur in recipients, or … Continue reading
Fun With Numbers
After so much stuff about evaluation theory and practice in this blog, it’s time for some fun! And what better fun is there than fun with numbers?1 Let’s begin our diversion with a graph from my prior post shown here. … Continue reading
Posted in Data vizualization, Measurement, Statistics
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Indentured Certitude
I want to share some information with you from a resource I mentioned last month. The resource is Edward Suchman’s 1967 book, Evaluative Research and the information is this diagram, which presents a basic model of evaluation:1 I share the … Continue reading
