I have implied this in other entries in this blog, but I might as well say it outright: The library and information science profession needs to come to terms with the issue of standards for (i.e., rules of) evidence for performance, statistical, and advocacy research data. There, now I’ve said it. I recently read the [...]
Archive for the ‘Research’ Category
Navigating with Fragmentary Information
Posted in Research, Measurement, Advocacy, Library assessment, tagged generalizability of findings, sampling, anecdotal data, convenience sample, statistical charts on February 16, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
The Telephone Game
Posted in Advocacy, Measurement, Research, tagged intepreting research findings, public access computer use, qualitative research, quantitative research, survey sampling techniques on January 5, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Readers of the, say, older persuasion may recall a time when children actually enjoyed games that required no peripheral devices, infrared sensors, or satellite tracking. There was one party game, simply called (I think) “Telephone,” where one player whispered a message to the next, and that player to the next, until the message was passed [...]
Research Literacy
Posted in Advocacy, Research, tagged research literacy, research reviews, systematic reviews on September 10, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
In 2008 the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) published a marketing research report addressing the need for increasing public support for libraries. The study, From Awareness to Funding: A Study of Library Support in America, was funded by a $1.2 million grant awarded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Respondents in the study were [...]
Thoroughly Modern Museums and Libraries
Posted in Library assessment, Measurement, Research on August 31, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
I think I get it now. I had thought the term assessment meant a systematic and appropriately rigorous measurement of a construct or phenomenon of interest, like program outcomes, community needs, service quality, and so on. Only now have I come to understand that a self-assessment is a different animal altogether. Who would have thought [...]
Cha-Ching!
Posted in Library assessment, Measurement, Research on August 14, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
I noticed that yet another library value calculator has appeared on the scene. This one is offered by the National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NNLM) with the very best of intentions, I am sure. But, let me say that I am convinced that these calculators are a bad idea. Their underlying assumptions are weak [...]
A Preponderance of the Evidence
Posted in Advocacy, Research, tagged evaluation theory, evidence, evidence based management, evidence based practice, management innovations, objectivity on June 29, 2009 | 3 Comments »
It is fairly well known that the field of business management can be susceptible to fads. Organizational scientists have studied the adoption of business approaches like management-by-objectives, total quality management (TQM), business process re-engineering, just-in-time manufacturing, scorecard methods, and others. Their work has led to an interesting body of literature about management innovations and organizational [...]
Once Size Doesn’t Fit All
Posted in Library assessment, Research, tagged library evaluation, localism, outcome evaluation on May 7, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Library assessment has come to rely on outcome assessment as the most appropriate indication of library performance. Yet, outcome studies are difficult to conduct, and are typically funded at regional and national levels. Public libraries, though, claim to deliver services specifically tailored to their communities. Upcoming efforts in library outcome evaluation will need to contend with this contradiction.
Objects in Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear
Posted in Measurement, Research, tagged library evaluation, measurement error, measurement precision, measurement scope, measurement validity on May 1, 2009 | 3 Comments »
In January my brother and I were laying laminate flooring in his house. Each time we needed to trim a plank, we stood reverently by his table saw and incanted the familiar carpenter’s adage, “Measure twice, cut once. (Amen.)” My brother said, “It’s the damnedest thing. You can repeat and repeat a measurement, and then [...]
New (or Old?) Paradigm Spurs ‘Fundamental Shift’ in Library Advocacy
Posted in Advocacy, Research, tagged awareness of library services, library funding, library marketing, merit, North Suburban Library System, OCLC, Public Library Inquiry, quality, value, worth on April 25, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
“Everything Old is New Again” is the title of a 1999 article in American Libraries by Douglas Raber, author of the excellent and eye-opening book, Librarianship and Legitimacy: The Ideology of the Public Library Inquiry. The article suggests that the Inquiry, a comprehensive assessment of public librarianship initiated by ALA in the late 1940′s, continues [...]
Poor WebJunction Survey Design Makes Findings Pretty Much Useless
Posted in Measurement, Research, tagged generalizability of findings, library evaluation, survey research, training assessment on April 22, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
This week I noticed that WebJunction is conducting a survey entitled “Technology Competencies Evaluation.” I think this must be a sequel to a survey I saw there last month about “management core competencies.” While the surveys are probably marketing research for WebJunction’s e-learning product line, the researchers say they want to use the data to “establish [...]
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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
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- New Report Explores Roles of Libraries and Museums in an Era of Participatory Culture May 16, 2012
