Approximately 60 people attended this program on demystifying the research process. Dr. Keith Curry Lance from Library Research Service, one of the researchers at the forefront of producing data that shows the impact of school librarians on student achievement was slated to speak, but an attack of viral laryngitis from too much speaking at this conference prevented him from making his presentation. Dr. Teri Lesesne from Sam Houston State University and Dr. Cindy Mediavilla from the California Center for the Book picked up the slack nicely to inform the audience about qualitative and quantitative research and make it accessible; their “I got a grant and you can, too” approach proved it is, indeed, easier than rocket science.
Dr. Lesesne, winner of the Frances Henne/YALSA/VOYA Research Grant (a $500 research grant donated by VOYA for seed money for small scale projects that encourage research), advised “start small.” One benefit of small grants is the narrative required for the application is short. She explained how she essentially doubled her money by asking a vendor how much of a discount she could if she spent her $500 award with them as soon as the check was in her hand. Anwser: 50%! Her focus on audiobooks and reading started with an increased audiobook collection and subsequent grants have lead to iPods and downloadable audio.
Not reinventing the wheel was another great tip. Once you have a small grant, you can go for a larger amount by writing a grant that will build on research already in place, or by exploring another angle and shifting your focus a little.
Dr. Lesesne favors paper and pencil style questionnaires and surveys for data gathering over verbal survey and focus groups because results are sometimes more subjective, depending on interpretation of the question: “You expect a ‘yes’ or ‘no’, and you get ‘yellow.’” Later in the program, she did say that age was a really good question to ask face-to-face, because often teens and preteens will circle the number they are turning on their next birthday.
Lastly, Dr. Lesesne gave us some buzzwords that are popular in the library and reading fields these days (of course, you need to know how to use them in context). Collaboration, fluency, automaticity are just a few.
Dr. Mediavilla focused on qualitative data gathering and spoke about her work in evaluating homework centers and their effect on recreational use of the library through focus groups, interviews and observation. Her practical advice for limiting participants to homogenous groups of 6-12, asking 4-7 questions, providing a lure or incentive and following up with a written survey really made the idea of conducting research approachable. She presented the benefits and difficulties of being a silent observer (wondering how much one’s presence affects the behavior of the subjects, refraining from interfering, etc) and reminded us that information gleaned with these practices that are thought of as softer than quantitative measures are what adds meat to the bones of the research, and a combination is often the best approach.
Keith opened the question and answer session by asking what information we needed to do our jobs better, with the intent of forming the questions into research queries. Topics included:
- How kids are using the Internet for awful things that filters can’t catch, such as cyber-bullying and impersonating someone else, which could use focus groups or surveys to reflect ethics and behaviors
- Why immigrants aren’t using library services
- Attitudes about listening to the audiobook vs reading a text
I skimmed the evaluations before I left, and some participants thought the program would held them assist students with research, rather than their own original research projects. I think the panelists gave an overview of conducting research, and a program that showcases how projects develop and how findings are published would be very helpful sometime in the future.
In case this post whetted your appetite for doing an research project, the deadline for the Frances Henne/YALSA/VOYA Research Grant is December 1st; check out the link for more details. A list of past recipients is on the YALSA Research Committee page at http://www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/aboutyalsab/research.htm.
