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6023 results in Facet Publishing

Page 148 of 302

  • 2 - Death of the author(ity): repositioning students as constructors of meaning in information literacy instruction

  • from PART 1 - THEORIES OF CRITICAL LITERACY
  • Edited by Sarah McNicol
  • Book:
    Critical Literacy for Information Professionals
    Published by:
    Facet
    Published online:
    08 June 2018
    Print publication:
    30 April 2016, pp 19-30

  • Summary

    Introduction

    In ‘The Death of the Author’, Barthes (1977, 146) writes that a text is ‘a multidimensional space in which a variety of writings, none of them original, blend and clash. The text is a tissue of quotations drawn from the innumerable centres of culture’. He asserts that the meaning of a text is fluid, and open to the interpretations of the reader. Foucault (1979a) further deconstructs authorship in ‘What is an Author?’ by taking the author away from the centre of the meaning-making process and exposing the role of the reader in the construction of a text. This notion is, in many ways, counter to the traditional work of bibliographic and information literacy instruction, which is concerned almost overwhelmingly with establishing authorial intent and determining expertise. This dogged focus on ‘authorship’ results in a curriculum in which popular and scholarly sources are positioned on either side of a value-laden binary, and where the process of critical evaluation – purportedly the heart of the project of information literacy – is often an effort to discern existing meanings, rather than challenge them. This emphasis on authorship also does nothing to recognize the ways in which a reader's relationship with a text is, fundamentally, a discourse in which meaning is continually negotiated and filtered through one's own lived experiences and values.

    In the spirit of Barthes and Foucault, this chapter is not solely about authors and authorship. Instead, it focuses on the conversations that arise when information literacy attempts to de-centre authorial intent and turn the lens back on the reader, or learner, as the constructor of meaning. When a learner is empowered to locate their own sense of ‘truth’ in a text, the discourse opens up into an examination of how those truths are, in themselves, constructed. To understand the importance or impact of an information source, one has to consider the audience response to a particular text and address interpretation as much as, if not more than, authorial intent. The focus I propose here is not an outright poststructuralist rejection of authorship but, rather, a recognition of the unique ways in which the field of information literacy should holistically consider its interactions with authorship.

  • 6 - Learning and teaching activities

  • Barbara Allan
  • Book:
    Emerging Strategies for Supporting Student Learning
    Published by:
    Facet
    Published online:
    08 June 2018
    Print publication:
    30 April 2016, pp 75-100

  • Summary

    Introduction

    Chapter 6 presents a wide range of learning and teaching activities which may be used by library and information workers as part of their face-to-face, blended or online courses or modules. This chapter is concerned with presenting basic ideas, common learning and teaching activities, assessment of learning and reflection on learning. In addition, it considers learning and teaching without courses, i.e. supporting student learning outside of scheduled teaching sessions.

    Each learning and teaching course or event is likely to involve various activities and a general principle is to use a number of different types of activities as this will help to make the session interesting and engaging. The design of learning and teaching courses and events is explored in Chapters 7 and 8.

    Presenting basic ideas

    This section considered different ways of presenting ideas by tutors or students.

    Briefing paper

    A briefing paper is a short written summary of a topic with visual images. It is a useful tool for presenting basic ideas to students or as a means of asking students to research and report on a subject. It is likely to cover key ideas, present new vocabulary, and provide a guide to additional resources. Briefing papers are often used by tutors as a means of preparing students for their face-to-face activities. Students may be asked to prepare a briefing paper in advance of a face-to-face session or as part of an online activity.

    Successful briefing papers are likely to:

  • • be short – no longer than four sides of A4

  • • be clearly written in accessible language

  • • define new vocabulary in a student-friendly style

  • • use images and diagrams

  • • include additional references.

    • Demonstrations

    Demonstrations are a common method of introducing students to different resources. Their advantage is that they are a useful means of giving an overview, e.g. of a particular online resource. However, short demonstrations lasting less than five minutes are likely to be much more successful than longer ones as it can be very challenging to maintain students’ interest in a demonstration and deliver one that meets the needs of the whole group.

  • 6 - ‘Anyone can cook’: critical literacy in the workplace

  • from PART 1 - THEORIES OF CRITICAL LITERACY
    • By Andrew Whitworth, Senior Lecturer at the Manchester Institute of Education, University of Manchester, UK
  • Edited by Sarah McNicol
  • Book:
    Critical Literacy for Information Professionals
    Published by:
    Facet
    Published online:
    08 June 2018
    Print publication:
    30 April 2016, pp 65-78

  • Summary

    Introduction

    Carr and Kemmis (1986) bemoan the existence of a pervasive ‘theory–practice gap’ in the education profession. Principles, standards and other generalized insights which emerge from the research literature are valuable only in so far as they must be interpreted and then applied in the practice of teachers on the ground, whether in schools, universities, workplaces or the informal learning networks which permeate society. Carr and Kemmis observe, however, that this view of the profession – with practice continually transformed through reflection on that practice – is increasingly subservient to one where practitioners have practice dictated to them by interests (management, consultants, academic researchers) who are essentially external to the profession. In this chapter, I argue that this view of education needs to be extended beyond just formal education as practised in schools and colleges, and into workplace education, the sector in which many information professionals reside. Exploring the meaning of critical literacy in the workplace setting is the narrative device through which this argument is supported.

    As with all critical theory, in order to have force, critical literacy cannot be a set of theoretical principles which somehow stand above the social settings in which they are practised. Furthermore, it cannot be defined as a set of preexisting judgements about practice. To be truly critical, critical literacy must, instead, be developed in practice, emerging from the collective judgements that are made in real learning settings and the dialogues that are constantly emerging from these settings (Linell, 2009).

    This chapter is concerned with critical literacy in a specific setting – the workplace. In line with the above-mentioned principles, I do not intend to define or conceptualize critical literacy in advance. Rather, in this chapter I will explore how it emerges from the work of two key authors who have studied workplaces as dynamic and social settings for learning: Annemaree Lloyd and Etienne Wenger. For both, ‘literacy’ – though Wenger tends more often to use the term ‘competence’ – is negotiated by practitioners. It is therefore an intrinsically collective, intersubjective phenomenon, and one that is specific to particular contexts. The critical dimension emerges when one considers the role of authority in these social settings, and how authority can direct learning, and possibly retard or nullify it.

  • 3 - Reading health-education comics critically: challenging power relationships

  • from PART 1 - THEORIES OF CRITICAL LITERACY
    • By Sarah McNicol, Education and Social Research Institute, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK
  • Edited by Sarah McNicol
  • Book:
    Critical Literacy for Information Professionals
    Published by:
    Facet
    Published online:
    08 June 2018
    Print publication:
    30 April 2016, pp 31-42

  • Summary

    Introduction

    Although they may not be widely used at present in health information settings, educational comics can be found about a wide range of illnesses. While some topics, such as AIDS and sexual health, are particularly well provided for, there are also educational comics about rarer conditions, including primary immunodeficiency, hepatitis B and tuberculosis among others. Healtheducation comics may have a number of purposes, including raising awareness (for example of disease symptoms); preparing patients (for instance what to expect from a medical procedure); assisting with decision making (such as deciding between treatment options); promoting self-management of chronic conditions; or simply increasing understanding and acceptance of a condition.

    In combining elements of information leaflets with sequentially illustrated narrative, health-education comics have the potential to do much more than simply convey facts about an illness; they can also support patients in dealing with the social and psychological aspects of a condition. Or, to put it another way, in addition to being read ‘efferently’ to find information, educational comics can also be read from a more emotionally engaged, ‘aesthetic stance’ (Rosenblatt, 1994; see Chapter 1 for a more detailed discussion of efferent and aesthetic stances). Comics have been argued to be ‘a very non-threatening medium’ as well as a ‘personalising medium’ (McAllister, 1992, 18), and one which ‘universalises the illness experience’ (Green and Myers, 2010). The fact that comics can effectively portray both actions and feelings means that they ‘may be a very effective tool in creating empathy and compassion’ (Green and Myers, 2010).

    This chapter sets out to explore whether educational comics can be read not only to provide information and emotional support, but also critically. A critical reading of health-education comics may mean, for example, questioning the traditional hierarchical power relationships that can be experienced by patients, or developing a better understanding of the ways in which people with health conditions are viewed in society more widely. A key aspect of critical literacy is questioning who has the power in a text: whose viewpoint is being presented, and whose is excluded? In the case of health education, reactions to these questions when reading a text have a clear potential to impact on real-life situations.

  • 1 - Introduction

  • Moira J. Bent
  • Book:
    Practical Tips for Facilitating Research
    Published by:
    Facet
    Published online:
    08 June 2018
    Print publication:
    31 March 2016, pp 1-8

  • Summary

    Introduction

    This is a practical book consisting of ideas and suggestions for library and information staff working with researchers, garnered from librarians all around the world. Inevitably, as the author is based in an English university, it has a UK HE bias, but the concepts and tips will often be transferable to different situations and countries. The aim is not so much to give you a definitive answer but to set you on the path to finding your own solutions.

    The book has been developed using a mind map to gather tips into natural chapters and very much reflects the interests of the contributors. Hence, you will not find a detailed theoretical exposition; there are other books in existence that do this very well and they are listed in the further reading; this book aims to raise awareness of issues and suggest ways to begin to address them.

    We all know that librarians love to share and this book is a shining example of sharing in practice. Over the last year, at conferences and meetings, via email and social media, I have explained what I was doing and asked for contributions. This is the result and you may well recognize a comment or idea in the following pages. I have tried to acknowledge everyone who has helped and apologize now if I have inadvertently missed someone. In this respect, therefore, the tips are self-selecting, representing the main interests and discussions prevalent at the time of writing.

    My story

    I'm a Faculty Liaison Librarian at Newcastle University and I've spent many years working with researchers at all levels, as well as researching into different aspects of information literacy and research workflows.

    When I moved from a ‘new’ teaching-focused university to a Russell Group university over 16 years ago my job description said I was responsible for ‘research support’ but when I asked my new colleagues what that meant in practice, no one could give me a simple definition. This led us at Newcastle University to initiate a research project to find out what our researchers needed from us, resulting in our original library web pages for researchers, which we called ResIN: Research Information at Newcastle (Bent, 2004). For a few years they were very successful and acted as a model for several other university libraries.

  • 8 - Specific interventions in the research process or lifecycle

  • Moira J. Bent
  • Book:
    Practical Tips for Facilitating Research
    Published by:
    Facet
    Published online:
    08 June 2018
    Print publication:
    31 March 2016, pp 119-180

  • Summary

    Identifying opportunities in research workflows (see also Tip 3.6)

    TO ENGAGE EFFECTIVELYwith researchers we need to understand who they are and what they do and, particularly, when they are doing it and what their issues and concerns are. By getting involved at all stages of the research workflow and looking for opportunities to participate, we will be better able to demonstrate value.

    In A Slice of Research Life Kroll and Forsman (2010) surveyed researchers in four universities in the USA and concluded that there are eight topics with associated tasks which would benefit from the use of information within the research lifecycle:

  • Learning about grant funding opportunities. The library may have a role in co-ordinating information from different sources and publicizing it to researchers.

  • Issues surrounding intellectual property and exploiting commercial value. This need varies between disciplines but a role for the library might be identified with respect to copyright, licensing and referral.

  • Finding potential collaborators, whether multi- or cross-disciplinary or even cross-organization. It's certainly true that in the sciences there are fewer individual researchers and many more working in teams.

  • Management and storage of documents and datasets. The rapid developments in technology make it more difficult to retrieve older material, with researchers expressing concern for the safety of work recorded on already outdated media or using obsolete software. Cloud services can help but this still requires the development of metadata to organize the materials.

  • Analysing text and datasets.

  • Improving information retrieval and management skills. This is often low on a researcher's priorities. Researchers live by ‘satisficing’ and will often use tools and services which are fast and easy if not optimal.

  • Citing references, using bibliographical management tools.

  • Choosing where to publish, understanding the difference between preand post-prints in making work open access.

    • These topics and tasks can be a useful starting point to better understand research workflow processes and hence when to devise lifecycle interventions.

  • Preface

    • By Starr Hoffman, PhD MLS MA is Head of Planning and Assessment at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas
  • Edited by Starr Hoffman
  • Book:
    Dynamic Research Support for Academic Libraries
    Published by:
    Facet
    Published online:
    08 June 2018
    Print publication:
    31 March 2016, pp ix-xii

  • Summary

    Rationale for this book

    There are many books on reference services, how to support research and learning, and related initiatives such as data services, digital humanities support and data management. However, there are few, if any, that provide illustrative examples of these varied services in one volume, viewing them as correlated, emerging models of research support.

    Higher education and academic libraries are in a period of rapid evolution. Technology, pedagogical shifts and programmatic changes in education mean that libraries must continually evaluate and adjust their services to meet new needs. Research and learning across institutions is becoming more teambased, crossing disciplines and dependent on increasingly sophisticated and varied data. To provide valuable services in this shifting, diverse environment, libraries must think about new ways to support research on their campuses, including collaborating across library and departmental boundaries.

    This book is intended to enrich and expand your vision of research support in academic libraries by:

  • • inspiring you to think creatively about new services

  • • sparking ideas of potential collaborations within and outside the library, increasing awareness of functional areas that are potential key partners

  • • providing specific examples of new services, as well as the decision making and implementation process

  • • providing a broad array of examples across different kinds of institutions

  • • shifting from a mindset of research and instruction services, metadata creation, data services, etc., as separate initiatives, toward a broad view of ‘research support.’

    • This volume is not intended as a checklist of ‘must-haves’ for every academic library. Each institution, and each library, serves a different group of students, faculty, and staff, and varies by mission, size, academic focus and more. Thus, there is no ‘one size fits all’ service model. Instead, these projects and support models are presented to inspire initiatives that fit your specific institution's needs and mission.

    ‘Research support’ as defined in this book

    As implied above, the phrase ‘research support’ in this book encompasses more than the traditional academic library definition of ‘reference’ or ‘research and instructional services.’

  • Introduction to Part 2

  • from PART 2 - DATA SERVICES AND DATA LITERACY
    • By Jackie Carter, Director for Engagement with Research Methods Training at University of Manchester, UK
  • Edited by Starr Hoffman
  • Book:
    Dynamic Research Support for Academic Libraries
    Published by:
    Facet
    Published online:
    08 June 2018
    Print publication:
    31 March 2016, pp 47-52

  • Summary

    If data is ‘the lifeblood of research’, it follows that importance must be placed upon the skills and services required to use this asset in support of the pursuit of new knowledge (Paul Boyle, as cited in Economic and Social Research Council, 2012). At a time when we can barely go a day without encountering another invitation to an event on big data, or come across an article on insight to be drawn from data big or small, there has arguably never been a better time to think about the practice of data analysis and the need for data literacy. In the UK we are fortunate to have investment at the national level in data services, including the flagship UK Data Service, to enable social science and related researchers to discover and use data that has been collected for the purpose of social research. However the practice of research data management (RDM), data literacy and data skills is spread widely across the academy. From the undergraduate student using secondary data in their final year dissertation to the experienced researcher collecting primary data in the field, from the small organization starting to collect data to inform their day to- day decisions to corporates who rely on data for insight into their business strategies, research data management practices can and should be taught as part of a skill set much needed, and increasingly valued, by society.

    Data is not new. Good research has always relied on good data as a starting point. What is emerging, however, is a new profession being described, sometimes quite loosely, as data science. Clearly researchers across the disciplines have always managed their data, in ways that have enabled them to contribute to the scholarly debate and literature in their subject areas. What is less evident, except perhaps in some of the hard sciences, is the documentation of the data and methods underpinning this research. How was the data derived, what methods were used, what was included and excluded, what version of data is being used in the study? All these questions, and others, need to be considered before even starting to analyse the data. A good data literacy programme will start with these fundamental questions.

  • 6 - Mapping unusual research needs: supporting GIS across non-traditional disciplines

  • from PART 2 - DATA SERVICES AND DATA LITERACY
    • By Karen Munro, Head of the University of Oregon Portland Library and Learning Commons
  • Edited by Starr Hoffman
  • Book:
    Dynamic Research Support for Academic Libraries
    Published by:
    Facet
    Published online:
    08 June 2018
    Print publication:
    31 March 2016, pp 83-96

  • Summary

    What is GIS?

    A regional planner is studying a map that shows the boundary of a local watershed, the location of natural gas deposits beneath the ground and the ownership of the land. But the planner knows that the watershed boundary was redrawn last spring, and that the company that owned the land has since sold it to a conservation group.

    A young architect designing a new city transit centre clicks and scrolls through a digital map of Portland, OR. The map shows the city's river and bridges, streets, highways, and even the individual building outlines, kerbs and sidewalks. But it's a map of the entire city, and the architect only needs to see a few neighbourhoods. The image is high-resolution, meaning the file is huge and it takes a lot of processing power to continually load and redraw it on the screen. The architect has to scroll, pan and resize constantly to navigate. In exasperation she prints it out – and finds that it's ten feet long and four feet wide.

    A journalist stares glumly at a familiar map of the USA, one which shows state and national borders as well as capital cities. She can easily see the geographic area in question – but what she really wants to know is how income levels in the northeast compare to those in the southwest. The map is useless to her, so she goes back online to find another.

    In all three of these situations, the user's problems could have been resolved with geographic information systems (GIS). But although GIS has been in wide use by geographers for decades, many other professions are unaware of its potential. This is ironic, since many of us now use GIS on a regular basis, even daily, through popular and free end-user applications such as Google Maps. But GIS isn't just about finding your blue dot on the freeway exit map, or asking where the closest Starbucks is. For students conducting academic research, GIS can be a powerful tool, adding unexpected depth and power to projects across a wide range of disciplines – and librarians can help make it happen.

  • Introduction to Part 1

  • from PART 1 - TRAINING AND INFRASTRUCTURE
    • By Starr Hoffman, PhD MLS MA is Head of Planning and Assessment at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas
  • Edited by Starr Hoffman
  • Book:
    Dynamic Research Support for Academic Libraries
    Published by:
    Facet
    Published online:
    08 June 2018
    Print publication:
    31 March 2016, pp 3-8

  • Summary

    Often, articles and books on research support in academic libraries focus on services. While services and service models will certainly be explored in later sections of this book, this initial section takes a closer look at more fundamental concerns: library infrastructure and training librarians for new support models.

    Planning for change

    Looking at training and infrastructure necessitates first taking a holistic view of our libraries through the lens of organizational development. The key goal that organizational development seeks to achieve is to become an adaptive, flexible organization, to continuously improve. Why is continual improvement needed in academic libraries? It's needed because we operate in a culture of change.

    Higher education is in a state of flux, seeking ways to be more transparent, accountable and cost-effective. As new practices in teaching, learning and research continually emerge, student and faculty work is being shaped by them. As libraries, we're constantly affected by new technologies and evolving methods of information dissemination. Library budgets are likely to never return to their pre-recession highs. We must be observant of these conditions, and of changing student and faculty needs, and be ready to respond quickly.

    Planning for change should begin by evaluating the library's current infrastructure, staff skills and institutional needs. Evaluating the infrastructure might include listing any necessary maintenance activities, as well as assessing how the current space is used. Space assessments could include ethnographic observations of student and faculty use of library space, such as those detailed by Nancy Fried Foster and Susan Gibbons in their ground-breaking study at the University of Rochester (Foster and Gibbons, 2007).

    Following the work of Foster and Gibbons, ethnographic and observation studies are increasing in popularity (Council on Library and Information Resources, 2012). These methods involve observing users in the library space (and in some cases, how they research and learn outside the library), to learn more about their habits and values. These methods include taking note of where users are in the library space and what they are doing in it at different times throughout the day.

  • Introduction to Part 3

  • from PART 3 - RESEARCH AS A CONVERSATION
    • By Starr Hoffman, PhD MLS MA is Head of Planning and Assessment at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas
  • Edited by Starr Hoffman
  • Book:
    Dynamic Research Support for Academic Libraries
    Published by:
    Facet
    Published online:
    08 June 2018
    Print publication:
    31 March 2016, pp 99-106

  • Summary

    The idea of research as a conversation

    In 1941, Kenneth Burke was the first to use the metaphor of ‘research as a conversation’:

    Imagine that you enter a parlor. You come late. When you arrive, others have long preceded you, and they are engaged in a heated discussion, a discussion too heated for them to pause and tell you exactly what it is about. In fact, the discussion had already begun long before any of them got there, so that no one present is qualified to retrace for you all the steps that had gone before. You listen for a while, until you decide that you have caught the tenor of the argument; then you put in your oar. Someone answers; you answer him; another comes to your defense; another aligns himself against you, to either the embarrassment or gratification of your opponent, depending upon the quality of your ally's assistance. However, the discussion is interminable. The hour grows late, you must depart. And you do depart, with the discussion still vigorously in progress.

    Burke, 1974

    Although this metaphor is not new in academia, it persists because it is a succinct and accurate description of the ideal of building knowledge. The phrase describes new knowledge as not a ‘eureka’-like bolt of lightning out of a clear summer sky, but rather as something built upon the solid foundation of pre-existing research. Whether the existing research agrees with established research or questions and refutes it, it is clearly situated in the established research conversation. This metaphor touches on several key aspects of libraries: providing access to previous research, educating users in how to discover it and give credit to it, and helping students learn how to analyse, synthesize and respond to it.

    This metaphor is complemented in 1962 by Thomas Kuhn's seminal work on research, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (Kuhn, 1970), which describes paradigm-shifting moments in scientific research. Kuhn's view of the history of science challenged the then-popular view that science was merely an inevitable accumulation of facts over time leading to a single, coherent framework. Instead, Kuhn pointed out how scientific anomalies that don't fit into the existing framework (what Kuhn called the ‘dominant paradigm’) can lead to requestioning old data with new hypotheses (a period he called ‘scientific revolution’) and ultimately to a new paradigm.

  • 7 - Collections

  • Moira J. Bent
  • Book:
    Practical Tips for Facilitating Research
    Published by:
    Facet
    Published online:
    08 June 2018
    Print publication:
    31 March 2016, pp 105-118

  • Summary

    Develop modern research collections

    ARE THE DAYS of the large research library, conscientiously collecting all resources just in case, a thing of the past? Will libraries of the future consist solely of virtual resources in some format given physical form by archives, or is there a place for more modern, actively acquired collections? If so, what does this mean and how might it be realized?

    It is much less common these days for university libraries to identify a gap in the market, so to speak, and start to actively purchase and develop materials to develop modern research collections reflecting current research activity. However, if funds permit and especially if you can identify potential future specialisms focused on key research activity, there are opportunities for libraries to work with researchers to grow their own research collection in a more systematic and potentially marketable way. Not all modern resources are digital and even those which are may still be produced in formats which are unsustainable in the future. Building a collection on a specific research area is also an activity with which researchers themselves can engage, so it can have unanticipated benefits. However, making a case for funding for this kind of speculative acquisition is not easy; perhaps kickstarting with some external funding or taking a proposal to a university research committee might be a way of initiating such a project.

    Best for:

  • • developing collections based on research interests

  • • enthusing and engaging researchers

  • • making your collections unique

  • • contributing to future research and knowledge

  • • enhancing the library's reputation both within and outside the organization.

    • Liverpool University Library

    Liverpool University Library's Special Collections include the Science fiction Collections, which comprise Europe's largest catalogued collection of Sf material, including the Science fiction foundation Collection and a wealth of literary archives.

    European Library

    one librarian from Europe describes her plans to develop a modern collection:

    ‘Our university is very strong in researching into alternative energy and we in the library get a lot of queries about resources. It's a fast-moving field and there's such a lot of grey literature around – things like reports from the EC, conference papers, internal working documents, as well as the more mainstream books and scholarly articles.

  • 2 - Section summaries

  • Moira J. Bent
  • Book:
    Practical Tips for Facilitating Research
    Published by:
    Facet
    Published online:
    08 June 2018
    Print publication:
    31 March 2016, pp 9-16

  • Summary

    You may find it helpful to read these section summaries to put the tips into context before dipping into the tips themselves.

    Landscapes and models (Section 3)

    It may seem contradictory to begin a practical tips book with a section on theory, but a clear understanding of the context against which we operate is essential if librarians wish to truly engage with their research community. A consideration of the different environments or landscapes through which researchers move can provide a helpful perspective. Landscapes can be personal and internal or objective and external, but they will all overlap to a greater or lesser extent to create an individual research landscape which influences the outcome of any research.

    For example, the prevailing political landscape will influence funding, organizational decision-making, opportunities for ‘blue sky’ research over economic necessity and thus ultimately the general direction of the research. A country's higher education landscape situates university research within a broad educational environment, with considerations such as the research/teaching nexus, parity of esteem and the pedagogy of research. Commercial research landscapes may focus on commercial viability, trials, licences and ethics, to suggest just a few elements.

    Within an organizational landscape researchers may function individually and in teams, within and across disciplines and sectors, priorities changing with the objectives of their employer. At an individual level, researchers operate within their own information literacy landscape (Bent, 2008), influenced by their attitudes and behaviours towards information, as well as their personal abilities. The wider information landscape provides the context for this, including as it does aspects of quantity and quality of information, access, language and availability.

    An individual research landscape therefore, is a complex blend of different external factors and individual attributes and the picture is further complicated when additional definitions, models and frameworks are introduced. Even seemingly straightforward terms such as ‘research’ and ‘researcher’, which seem self-explanatory, can mean different things in different situations. Can undergraduates completing an essay be thought of as doing research? They might argue so, but it is certainly different to research undertaken by a postdoc, for example.

  • 9 - Teaching approaches

  • Moira J. Bent
  • Book:
    Practical Tips for Facilitating Research
    Published by:
    Facet
    Published online:
    08 June 2018
    Print publication:
    31 March 2016, pp 181-204

  • Summary

    Learn some teaching theory to enable you to plan for successful teaching

    HAVING AN UNDERSTANDING of the theories of teaching and learning is essential for running successful workshops and other learning experiences with researchers. Although it may not be possible to follow a whole course on teaching, it is helpful to sign up for any opportunities which arise. Many universities run academic practice courses for new academic staff and will welcome participation by library staff too. As well as giving you the chance to learn, they are excellent opportunities to network and build relationships – connections made during a shared experience like this will put any future communications on a different footing, as you are much more likely to be perceived as an equal.

    If such courses aren't available, there are many online opportunities. In recent years, several MOOCs (massive open online courses) relating to teaching skills have been produced and over the years initiatives such as EduLib (McNamara and Core, 1998) in the UK have also sought to encourage library staff to develop their teaching skills. There are also several excellent books on teaching skills for library staff – see, for example Allan (2013), Powis, Webb and Blanchett (2010) and Secker, Boden and Price (2007).

    One of the outcomes from any practical course on learning to teach relates to planning for a teaching and learning event. Successful planning is essential to the success of any lecture or workshop. When planning, keep in mind at all times what you want your participants to learn. This will help you to keep the session focused; remember, it's not about you and what you are going to say and do, it's about the learners and what they will be doing and thinking. Using a planning tool can help you to consider all the aspects, such as content and messages, timing, environment, activities, resources and the participants themselves. Bear in mind, too, that however well you plan, the unexpected may happen and this often relates to the learners themselves, who may have come along with different expectations.

  • 8 - Bridging the gap: easing the transition to higher education with an information literacy MOOC

  • from PART 3 - RESEARCH AS A CONVERSATION
    • By Mariann Løkse, Head of the Library Services Department at UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Helene N. Andreassen, PhD is a Senior Academic Librarian and subject specialist for linguistics, Torstein Låg, Senior Academic Librarian and subject librarian for psychology and psychiatry at the University Library, Mark Stenersen, Information architect and graphic designer and Consultant in Visual Communication at the Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology, Result, UiT The Arctic University of Norway
  • Edited by Starr Hoffman
  • Book:
    Dynamic Research Support for Academic Libraries
    Published by:
    Facet
    Published online:
    08 June 2018
    Print publication:
    31 March 2016, pp 119-132

  • Summary

    Introduction

    What do students need to learn to get the most out of their academic studies? How can the library support their learning process in the best possible way? Are our current information literacy (IL) classes what we want them to be?

    After repeatedly asking ourselves these questions, we gradually realized we needed to refocus and adjust our teaching and learning services to meet the needs of new students. Thus, the iKomp MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) was born, and with it a chance to introduce modern teaching methods in our IL instruction, together with a more dialogue-based communication with first-year students.

    The main trigger for starting to change how we teach information literacy at our university came from feeling that we, in some respects, failed in reaching the students with our instruction. With the norm being one or two classes with each student group during their first term, we had a lot to say and sadly not enough time in which to say it. Our lectures were packed with all the wonderful stuff that we as librarians know could help the student's research and learning process. Feedback from attending students was usually very good, but what did they really learn? Moreover, what about those students who for some reason did not attend?

    As we created a MOOC to address these challenges, another important factor dawned on us. Many of the students who tested the beta version of iKomp repeatedly mentioned the gap between secondary and higher education. Reflecting on this issue, we understood more clearly the importance of the library's learning support services. Young people enter universities and colleges with a varying set of expectations, learning skills and basic knowledge. Similarly, higher education faculty have their own expectations of their students. These two sets of expectations are not necessarily in agreement.

    In this chapter, we describe the development of our MOOC, entitled iKomp and created at UiT, The Arctic University of Norway, in the period 2013–15 (http://ikomp.no). The chapter is organized as follows: first, we present iKomp and then we expand on the needs that caused us to develop it.

  • Introduction: a vision for supporting research

    • By Starr Hoffman, PhD MLS MA is Head of Planning and Assessment at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas
  • Edited by Starr Hoffman
  • Book:
    Dynamic Research Support for Academic Libraries
    Published by:
    Facet
    Published online:
    08 June 2018
    Print publication:
    31 March 2016, pp xiii-xxii

  • Summary

    What is ‘research support?’

    The traditional model of a public services librarian sitting at a desk, answering student questions, no longer adequately captures the experience of many academic librarians. Some still sit at reference desks, but those desks have changed, often incorporating a variety of services such as circulation and technological support. Librarians themselves may be on call nearby while students or paraprofessionals sit at the desk, answering directional and transactional questions. Librarians may find that reference questions swiftly transform into impromptu sessions on information literacy, or tutorials on interpreting quantitative statistics, or methods of sharing research.

    In addition to these reference-desk-adjacent inquiries, librarian support for student and faculty work is expanding to include areas such as the digital humanities and data management, which have traditionally been performed by specialists in areas outside the reference and instruction realm. Academic libraries are realizing the power of existing liaison or subject librarian relationships with faculty, and many are mining those relationships to offer discipline-specific support for open access publishing, data use and management, and other services.

    Research support isn't something limited to large-scale research libraries. Academic libraries of all sizes, missions and locations – including small liberal arts and community colleges – are shifting to broader forms of research support. After all, ‘research’ is not something specific to one discipline; it is the pursuit or creation of new knowledge. This idea can also be expressed as ‘inquiry,’ research as an exploration and process of asking questions (Pagowsky, 2014). Guided inquiry is a learning technique in which students are taught to ask themselves questions such as: ‘What do I want to learn?’, ‘How do I learn it?’, ‘What did I learn?’ and ‘How will I use what I learned?’ (Kuhlthau, Maniotes and Caspari, 2007).

    Likewise, Kenneth Burke's (1974) metaphor of ‘research as a conversation’ is one that can be applied equally to all disciplines. Burke (1974) describes the research process as being like walking into a room where a conversation has been going on for a while. After listening to the conversation for a while, you join in with your own point of view. Some people agree with you and provide further evidence, while others counter your argument. Nicole Pagowsky (2014) describes this process as ‘examining the connections and ongoing narratives between different scholarly pieces’

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