1. SCONUL Conference June 2008
Researchers?
Who are they and what are their learning
needs?
Moira Bent
Newcastle University
2. SCONUL Conference June 2008
What is research?
Researchers said ..
Research is
Theory-led; Data-led; Scholarship
Grounded in disciplines; multi / inter /
trans disciplinary
Investigation; interpretation; gathering
evidence
A holistic activity; a set of transferable
skills
Collaborative / solo activity
Related to self
Validated by peer group
Made meaningful by an external
audience
3. SCONUL Conference June 2008
What are researchers?
Researchers said..
Researchers are:
Usually recognised within organization and…
people who find out new things, reflect and take action
at different levels and career stages
working in different disciplines
obliged to share what they find – to put knowledge into the
public domain
ready to be challenged
making connections
passionate
ambitious
4. SCONUL Conference June 2008
The seven ages of research
Masters students
Doctoral students
Contract researchers
Early career researchers
Established academic staff
Senior researchers
Experts
New Review of Information Networking
(2007) 13 (2) : 81-99
{
{
{
5. SCONUL Conference June 2008
Early
Apprenticeship - influenced by supervisors / tutors /
mentors
Skills and competences are defined (also funded and
monitored)
Different levels of control
Transition from structured learning to self-organization
Interaction between personal life / prior experiences
Managing different roles e.g. other jobs, developing
teaching skills
Information consumer, objective is production
6. SCONUL Conference June 2008
Early
I consider myself to be at the start of my research
career, although I have been doing research for about 4
years. [Recent PhD graduate, South Africa]
I don’t think I was a good researcher for my PhD. You
need to have a mentor to show you the ropes and the
pitfalls. You can train for some things. The best is to
work alongside someone successful and learn from
them. [Dean of Research, UK]
I reckon I spent nearly all my first year reading journal
articles. [Computing Sciences Final year PhD]
7. SCONUL Conference June 2008
Mid
Moving field / moving role / learning a different landscape
Balancing teaching and research
support / info guiding work management in different
circumstances
situating yourself / making your name / establishing
credentials
locally (e.g. in department)
wider research community
Need to be adaptable / avoiding isolation
Starting to supervise other researchers
Starting role in management / administration
Information production and consumption
Shift from systematic to pragmatic information retrieval
8. SCONUL Conference June 2008
Mid
I hardly ever use databases, probably because I’m not
usually starting from a position of knowing nothing. I
tend to start with a few key papers and then follow up
their references. [Senior lecturer in Biology]
I used to be focused in my approach to finding
mainstream resources, now I’m less so, more
explorative. I guess looking for inspiration for my more
mainstream ideas. [Senior Research Fellow in creative
technologies] p.158
9. SCONUL Conference June 2008
Late / Senior
• Developing into/ having a significant role in research
leadership and administration
• Leading research teams / research centres / research
projects / mainstream management
• Supervising and examining theses
• Teaching research methods
• Plenary conference speaker
• Editorial board of journals etc.
• Refereeing / peer reviewer / specialist assessor
• Disseminating research practice or defining their field
• Different IL skillsets for range of activities
10. SCONUL Conference June 2008
Late
I have 5 years to retirement but research is becoming
more important in my career. I still have one, even though
retirement is looming [South African researcher]
If I couldn’t find it myself on the Internet, then I’d ask my
students first, my RAs, then I’d come to the library. The
RAs live and die finding info. [Professor of Industrial
Statistics, UK]
These days all my papers are invited plenaries and similar
tertiary reviews. [Retired Professor of Chemistry, UK]
As a researcher, the difference is that I know how to do
research and I am connected into all the networks. [Dean
of Research, Humanities, UK]
11. SCONUL Conference June 2008
What are researchers’ learning
needs? Librarians said…
Research methodology - how
to do it
Updating skills for older/
experienced researchers
Awareness of needing to
know
Understanding scholarly
communication issues
Effective use of sources, inc
people
Supervisors & librarians -
skills assessment
Access to resources
Separate study spaces
12. SCONUL Conference June 2008
Researchers said..
The Library is good for my research
because…
Access - hours/ open access
Electronic resources
Time saving
Friendly professionals / advice
Speed of service
Research library atmosphere/‘Wow’ factor
Escape from phone/ colleagues
Browsing/ serendipity
Library as university “icon” – to be proud of
13. SCONUL Conference June 2008
Researchers said
I have concerns about
No full text access
Missing / unavailable material
English as language of scholarship
Access issues
Noisy study spaces
Management of data
REF, measuring my impact
Repositories, keeping track of my publications
accurately, organising information
Time wasting, quantity of information
“E” limits research to what is easy
14. SCONUL Conference June 2008
How is research changing?
Researchers said…
More accountability / Fewer blue sky
opportunities
More targeted outcomes
More collaboration (UK, overseas, across
different types of organisation)
Multidisciplinary research areas
Data archives – data mining, data storage
E science / grid
Repositories / Open access mandates
Harder to know all that is happening,
especially in China, India etc
15. SCONUL Conference June 2008
What I like to do most of all is
spend all day in the library and
then go home for tea
Bill Bryson (Centre for Life 2001)