Basic Research Methods for Librarians

 

Connaway, Lynn Silipigni and Ronald R. Power. Basic Research Methods for Librarians, 5th ed. Libraries Unlimited, 2010. ISBN: 978-1-59158-865-8

Basic Description

Addressed to practicing librarians and other information professionals, as well as master's and doctoral students in LIS programs, Basic Research Methods for Librarians, Fifth Edition specifically covers the research methodologies likely to be used by librarians, providing guidance on designing and conducting research and publishing research results.

Chapters include:

• Research and Librarianship
• Developing the Research Study
• Selecting the Research Method
• Survey Research and Sampling
• Data Collection Techniques
• Experimental Research
• Qualitative Research Methods
• Historical Research
• Analysis of Data
• Writing the Research Proposal
• Writing the Research Report

Making the Writing and Research Connection with the I-Search Process

Tallman, Julie I., and Marilyn Z. Joyce. Making the Writing and Research Connection with the I-Search Process: A How-to-Do-It Manual, 2nd ed. Neal-Schuman Publishers, 2006. ISBN 1-55570-534-0

The I-Search approach to research begins with students selecting topics based on personal interests. The process builds inquiry skills and includes several stages of reflection, both of which help the student grow as a researcher and writer. This book can help you learn and teach the I-Search process. -- Jen

School Library Journal Review:
Tallman and Joyce's first edition (1997)concentrated on training middle and secondary students to employ I-Search, a research and writing process that challenges learners to have a "stake in the topic" of study. What's new with this edition is the generalization of the process to expand application to learners of all ages, abilities, and personalities across the curriculum; what is unchanged is the assumption that learning is more intimate when students pursue inquiries within their scope of interest. In addition to a revised restatement of the I-Search process, this new volume offers feedback and changes based on reactions from teachers who followed the original. It uses the very evolution of the process and of instructional technologies to engender fresh application of I-Search, and it responds to national standards conceived since the first publication. An accompanying CD-ROM contains downloadable files of all of the figures and charts from the manual that include outlines, handouts, worksheets, and sample student projects. The flexibility of this edition is particularly welcome, as it suggests how to apply the I-Search process to any area of education.—Jodi Kearns, University of Akron, OH