Research can be a scary word that comes with a lot of fear about our own skills. We think of experts conducting field work, gathering data, and writing long, technical reports. Like reading a foreign language, it’s easy to feel ill-equipped for deciphering what it all means.
Chapter one of Between a Graph and a Hard Place gave you the lexicon for understanding existing data and research. We covered a myriad of topics from checking sources to reading data visualizations that you can find here in case you missed any. Now, we’re excited to introduce chapter two of our blog series in which you—the reader—will go out and conquer your own research and evaluation projects. You don’t need to be a researcher, just curious about how to gather insights about the work you’re doing in a library.
Every other week we’ll cover new topics that build your research “vocabulary,” starting with forming a research question or goal. On our journey we’ll talk about issues like researching vulnerable populations and other ethical considerations. Using real world examples from Library Land, chapter two will also cover the basics of collecting and analyzing data, including how to do it without ever leaving your desk—or home. We’ll talk about surveys, focus groups, and observations. You’ll learn how to code data and run simple analyses. It’s a lot to tackle, but it’s easier than you think!
No matter what position you have in a library and no matter what kind of library it is, having the skills to collect and interpret data and evaluate the work you’re doing is critical. Like I said earlier, you don’t have to be a researcher to conduct research. You work in libraries, which means you probably like discovering information and communicating it to others—the foundation is already there! So join us on the next chapter of our data journey. We’ll get out from between a graph and a hard place and onto a path toward research fluency.