It’s great to see other librarians advocating for the same causes I harp on in this blog. I’m referring to Sarah Robbins, Debra Engel, and Christina Kulp of the University of Oklahoma, whose article appears in the current issue of College & Research Libraries. The article, entitled “How Unique Are Our Users?”1 warns against the [...]
Archive for the ‘Research’ Category
Data Are Not Psychic
Posted in Measurement, Research, Statistics, tagged external validity, generalizability, inferential statistics, perceptions of library users, statistical significance testing, survey research on November 28, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
How Do You Know That?
Posted in Measurement, Research, Statistics, tagged inferential statistics, information literacy, sampling error, statistical significance testing, survey research, vetting information on August 23, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
I borrowed the title for this entry from a 2009 study of student research practices by Randall McClure and Kellian Clink. Their study is cited in an article in the current issue of College & Research Libraries that Joe Matthews brought to my attention. This article is Students Use More Books After Library Instruction by [...]
The U Word
Posted in Advocacy, Measurement, Reporting Evaluation/Assessment Results, Research, Statistics on April 9, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
This week Chase Bank sent an email to its customers saying that one of their vendor’s computer systems were hacked. The bank stated that they: …are confident that the information that was retrieved [i.e., stolen] included some Chase customer e-mail addresses, but did not include any customer account or financial information. Based on everything we [...]
Stubborn Facts
Posted in Advocacy, Reporting Evaluation/Assessment Results, Research on March 12, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
In the book John Adams author David McCullough writes about Adams’ legal defense of British soldiers on trial for murder in 1770. In his argument to the Massachusettes jury Adams said: Facts are stubborn things. And whatever our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictums of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and [...]
Discussing Accuracy
Posted in Advocacy, Library assessment, Measurement, Research, Statistics on January 11, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Now that I am no longer distracted by the subject of last week’s entry I can get to the intended topic for my first 2011 blog entry. I should say, though, that I won’t be turning over any kind of new leaf for the new year. For now I’m sticking with the theme I’ve dwelt [...]
Checking It Twice
Posted in Measurement, Research on December 22, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
By this time in the season you’ve probably heard one or another rendition of the familiar Christmas carol about Santa’s annual performance measurement regimen. Mr. Claus and team work hard to make sure the results of the North Pole poll are accurate. After all, it would never do to have children receiving gifts they don’t [...]
A Hard Row to Hoe
Posted in Library assessment, Measurement, Research on November 5, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
During the question-and-answer part of a presentation I gave at the 2010 Library Assessment Conference in Baltimore last week, I couldn’t resist editorializing about how bad convenience sampling is. One audience member spoke up, saying she felt convenience samples are legitimate as long as findings are interpreted as describing only the respondents, themselves. Later on [...]
Experience Keeps a Dear School
Posted in Advocacy, Research, Statistics on September 29, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Last June the final report from an IMLS-funded study of public library summer reading programs, The Dominican Study: Public Library Summer Programs Close the Reading Gap, was published. The “reading gap” refers to the cumulative loss in proficiency that has been observed in students who struggle with reading. The gap is cumulative because the “summer [...]
Stranger Than Fiction
Posted in Research, Statistics, tagged confidence intervals, generalizability of findings, margin of error, sampling, survey research on March 16, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
I proceed with this little essay with some trepidation due to the topic I’ve chosen: the idea of margins of error in survey research. By “survey research” I mean such things as political polls, public opinion surveys, market research, and so on. Right up front I can share my conclusion with you. The common understanding [...]
-
Recent Posts
Archives
- May 2012
- April 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- October 2008
IMLS- Blog Post: National Medal Video: San José Public Library May 29, 2012
- Blog Post: Mark Your Calendars for WebWise Reprise! Live Webinars Coming in June May 25, 2012
- Blog Post: National Medal Video: Madison Children’s Museum May 22, 2012
- Blog Post: Let’s Move Museums & Gardens Success Story: Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History May 18, 2012
- Blog Post: Summer Learning is Important to Student Success May 16, 2012
- New Report Explores Roles of Libraries and Museums in an Era of Participatory Culture May 16, 2012
