VCUL Faculty Development

For many practitioners, best practices are often developed through significant amounts of direct experience. However, they can also be developed through the examination and application of research findings. By critically assessing existing studies within library and information science, both aspiring and experienced professionals can acquire a deeper understanding of available methods, as well as design more effective studies.

Content analysis is one of the most important but complex research methodologies in the social sciences. In this thoroughly updated Second Edition of The Content Analysis Guidebook, author Kimberly Neuendorf provides an accessible core text for upper-level undergraduates and graduate students across the social sciences. Comprising step-by-step instructions and practical advice, this text unravels the complicated aspects of content analysis.

An EasyGuide to Research Design and SPSS® is an essential resource for students to successfully navigate and complete research projects. Using a clear, concise, and conversational writing style, authors Beth M. Schwartz, Janie H. Wilson, and Dennis M. Goff cover all of the most basic and common designs and analyses that students need to know for appropriately testing a hypothesis. The handbook includes step-by-step instructions accompanied by ample screenshots for working with data in SPSS®, along with guidance on interpreting outputs and formatting results in APA style. The Second Edition features a streamlined organization, updated references, and new content on factorial designs, effect size, and G*Power.   

Comprehensive, theoretically informed guide draws attention to areas of potential research in Library and Information Science; covers how to get started; where to find ideas, research designs, data collection/ analysis, collaborative research, tips on writing, preparing for publication, increasing chances of acceptance, finding a suitable journal, more.

Library and information professionals are increasingly called upon to justify budgets, services, programs-sometimes even our very existence. This very practical and clear guide offers step-by-step guidance for using traditional research methods to help improve, validate, and ultimately advance the day-to-day work and purpose of libraries.

This established text is the only introduction to qualitative research methodologies in the field of library and information management. Directed primarily at the beginner researcher, this book also offers a practical refresher in this important area for the more experienced researcher. It is a useful tool for all practitioners and researchers in information organizations, whether libraries, archives, knowledge management centres, record management centres, other types of information service providers

Reflecting the increasing importance of mixed methods, each chapter shows how to implement a mixed method design in your proposal or plan as well as how to do the other two (qualitative and quantitative) approaches. Includes: Ethical issues that may arise in quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods designs; Writing tips to get your research started in the right direction; Latest developments in qualitative inquiry; Mixed Method Procedures, data collection and analysis.

Written by coauthors with extensive expertise in research design, securing grant funding, and using the latest technology and data analysis software, this sixth edition provides practical examples based on current quantitative and qualitative research methods from prominent LIS scholars, researchers, and editors, including advice on specific methods and software for analysis--e.g., NVivo, SurveyMonkey, and log capture

While quantitative research provides librarians with calculations/ metrics of use or effectiveness, qualitative research explores assumptions, values, and opinion to understand the subtleties of user interaction with library services and collections. This volume explains the basic tenets of qualitative research and details action research projects that academic librarians can undertake with their patrons.