Practitioner research in an academic library: evaluating the impact of a support group
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Date
2014-05
Authors
Walkley Hall, Elizabeth
McBain, Ian
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Taylor & Francis (Routledge)
Rights
© May 2014 Taylor & Francis Limited
Rights Holder
Taylor & Francis Limited
Abstract
This paper explores how a support group has contributed to building a culture of research practice at Flinders University Library. The brief of the Research Working Group (RWG) is to develop a culture of research and professional reflection in the library’s professional staff. The RWG has three broad goals against which to measure its impact: to develop the professional staff's skills with regard to research engagement; to encourage analysis and investigation of the Library’s services and resources; and to engage more widely with the library profession and the wider higher education community through presentation and publication of research results. Professional staff completed a questionnaire examining their participation in research, their confidence in undertaking research, and plans for future research projects. The results were analysed with reference to the first goal of the RWG. The importance of practitioners undertaking research is increasingly being recognised as a core value in academic libraries. Many support groups for librarians undertaking research have been described in the literature, but few have evaluated the impact of such a group. This paper seeks to evaluate the impact of the RWG on the professional staff at Flinders University Library to date.
Description
Author version made available in accordance with the Publisher's policy. This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Australian Library Journal in May 2014, available online: http:/www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/00049670.2014.898238
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Citation
Hall, Liz Walkley; McBain, Ian. Practitioner research in an academic library: evaluating the impact of a support group, Australian Library Journal, 63.2 (May 2014): 129-143.