(via Dr. Jennifer Sweeney, JK Sweeney and Associates LLC)
October 16-19, 2019
School of Library & Information Science
University of South Carolina
Columbia, SC
LRS VII kicks off on October 16 with a half-day preconference workshop on methods. Do you want to be involved in research but don’t know where to start? This workshop is just for you! This workshop was designed and organized by Dr. Lynn Silipigni Connaway and brings in methods experts from academic and public libraries. Read on for more:
LRS VII Preconference Workshop: Choosing Methods, Crafting Questions, Visualizing Results: A step-by-step assessment methods workshop for demonstrating library impact
Wednesday, October 16, 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Assessment matters, but despite available research support and how-to guides, putting together a study can be difficult. This series of workshops will consist of guided practical exercises that break down the major steps in an assessment study: choosing a method for collecting and analyzing the data, defining the problem and crafting answerable research questions (RQs), and telling the story with a compelling narrative and understandable visualizations. Through guided activities and problem-led instruction, participants come away with an action plan for investigating their own library assessment questions and demonstrating impact to their stakeholders.
Prior to attending this 3 hour preconference session, participants should think about a research problem or question they wish to address. In this session, participants will learn about five data collection methods for assessment: surveys, interviews (individual and focus group), structured observations, ethnographic research, and analytics (e.g., log analysis, resource-based usage and statistics). A panel will describe these assessment methods and outline each method’s advantages and disadvantages. Participants will choose a preferred method and work in groups to apply that method to their problem/research question.
Follow-up Session 1: Thursday, October 17, 9:00-10:30 AM
Crafting answerable research questions
Crafting answerable research questions constitutes a critical step in the assessment process. However, significant foundational work is needed before RQs can be written. In this session, participants will learn how to perform this foundational work, which entails learning about the assessment process, gathering existing research and identifying gaps in the literature, and developing a research problem statement based on these gaps and institutional context. With these steps in mind, this session will provide participants with a series of guided exercises to help them engage in the foundational work necessary to draft appropriate RQs. Participants will lead the session with answerable RQs that suit their institutional context; these questions will be used to launch the following workshop.
Follow-up Session 2: Friday, October 18, 9:30-11:00 AM
Crafting a compelling assessment narrative with data visualization
Two ways to enhance understanding of the results of assessment activities are to identify significant findings with compelling data visualizations and to address the unique concerns of the library’s stakeholders. This session will begin with a demonstration of how common data (e.g., interview, usage statistics) can be made more accessible using the ACRL/OCLC Literature Analysis Dashboard’s Charts and Graphs feature. During the remainder of the session, the session presenters will share best practices for communicating data in ways that are meaningful and accessible to stakeholders. Then, participants will apply what they’ve learned in a guided, interactive exercise where they will identify their stakeholders and their priorities, needs, and concerns, and brainstorm strategies for communicating results to them.
Click here to register.