LIS 5713 Research and Evaluation Methods

This artifact is for LIS-5713 Research and Evaluation Methods, taken in Spring 2023. The paper chosen was the literature list assignment. The assignment was to gather a literature list for a research project of our own choice and update the purpose and research statements that were previously submitted. For the research project, I proposed to look at the use of advanced search features by public librarians and its efficacy.

I learned a lot about conducting research involving humans and the available literature/research that is available about how librarians affect information seeking. The literature review and research process were similar to those I completed during my undergraduate engineering degree. However, I was surprised by how numeral data is displayed and presented while looking through articles on the subject. 

One of the takeaways from the assignment I will be using in the future is to pay close attention to the data collection methods and how the data is being interpreted. It also showed me there are several gaps in data, and more research needs to be done on how librarians impact information-seeking events. This gap in data applies to SLIS SLO 2 and 5 (2022) being able to analyze complex issues and understand the need for more research on the subject. In determining whether there was a gap in the data, multiple sources and searches were needed to justify the need to conduct research and data collection. I gained more understanding of these concepts while completing this assignment. From others' research, I gathered information and assessed that librarians do have an impact on finding results and the quality of results. However, the studies looked at collegiate-level papers and students searching not at public libraries. This also tied into my personal learning objective of ALA Core Competences (2023) of reference and user services of being able to assess if advance searches are impacting the community being served in a positive way.

Reference

American Library Association. (2023). 2022 ALA core competences of librarianship_final. In American Library Association. Retrieved February 28, 2023, from https://www.ala.org/educationcareers/sites/ala.org.educationcareers/files/content/2022%20ALA%20Core%20Competences%20of%20Librarianship_FINAL.pdf

School of Library and Information Studies. (2022, October 10). Goals and student learning outcomes. The University of Oklahoma. Retrieved February 27, 2023, from https://www.ou.edu/cas/slis/about/vision