Opening keynote presentation to the European Association for Health Information and Libraries, the International Conference of Animal Health Information Specialists, and the International Clinical Librarian Conference, University of Edinburgh, Wednesday 10th June 2015

1. Incorporating a research-minded approach to
professional practice
Opening keynote presentation to the European Association for
Health Information and Libraries, the International Conference of
Animal Health Information Specialists, and the International Clinical
Librarian Conference
University of Edinburgh, Wednesday 10th June 2015
Professor Hazel Hall, @hazelh

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#researchminded

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http://hazelhall.org/about
@hazelh

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Photo credit Hello Dolly! by Toni Barros
https://www.flickr.com/photos/12793495@N05/3233344867/
Creative commons licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/
Simpson (MD 1832): Chloroform
for anaesthesia
Wood (MD 1839): Hypodermic
syringe
Edwards (PhD 1955): IVF

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Hall (BVM&S 1964)
Hall (1963)
Hall (2014)

13. Incorporating a research-minded approach to
professional practice
Opening keynote presentation to the European Association for
Health Information and Libraries, the International Conference of
Animal Health Information Specialists, and the International Clinical
Librarian Conference
University of Edinburgh, Wednesday 10th June 2015
Professor Hazel Hall, @hazelh

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2006-2008: Consultations
March 2009: Coalition formally established by 5
founding members
August 2009: Dr Hazel Hall appointed to lead the
implementation, 2 days per week in a seconded
role
Establishment of the LIS Research Coalition

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To facilitate a co-ordinated
and strategic approach to LIS
research across the UK
(2009-2012)
To explore the extent to which
LIS research projects
influence practice (2011)
To create outputs to support
the use and execution of
research by librarians and
information scientists (2012)
To develop a UK-wide
network of LIS researchers
(2011-2012)

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http://lisresearch.org
@LISResearch

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Heavy use of social media
by means of a Twitter feed
that is still active in 2015

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‘To facilitate a co-ordinated and strategic approach to LIS
research across the UK’
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Provision of a formal structure
To improve access to LIS research
To maximise the relevance and impact of LIS research
Main aims
To bring together information about LIS research opportunities and results
To encourage dialogue between research funders
To promote LIS practitioner research and the translation of research outcomes into
practice
To articulate a strategic approach to LIS research
To promote the development of research capacity in LIS

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Williamson (1931)
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“RESEARCH: What attitude
does the word evoke…Is the
emotional state produced
pleasant or unpleasant, or a
mixture of these two
elementary reactions?” (p. 1)
“What about research in the
library field? A little sporadic
work here and there…” (p. 5)

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‘To facilitate a co-ordinated and strategic approach to LIS
research across the UK’
Page 20
Provision of a formal structure
To improve access to LIS research
To maximise the relevance and impact of LIS research
Main aims
To bring together information about LIS research opportunities and results
To encourage dialogue between research funders
To promote LIS practitioner research and the translation of research outcomes into
practice
To articulate a strategic approach to LIS research
To promote the development of research capacity in LIS

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Why research-led practice?
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To exploit the existing knowledge-base for service
improvement
For improvements in decision making for services delivery
To enhance the value of prior work
So that it is possible to capitalise on significant investment in prior
work
To raise the value of previous studies through reuse
To demonstrate the value and impact of service delivery
beyond “libraries are a good thing”
So that investment continues and high levels of service continue
“Even though the librarian
may not himself engage
in serious research, he
should be able to grasp
readily and appreciate
the significance of
scientific studies made
by others.” (Williamson,
1931, p. 16)

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Access to existing
resources to be
exploited and reused

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‘To facilitate a co-ordinated and strategic approach to LIS
research across the UK’
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Provision of a formal structure
To improve access to LIS research
To maximise the relevance and impact of LIS research
Main aims
To bring together information about LIS research opportunities and results
To encourage dialogue between research funders
To promote LIS practitioner research and the translation of research outcomes
into practice
To articulate a strategic approach to LIS research
To promote the development of research capacity in LIS

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Practitioner-led research
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To meet service and organisational priorities
Inform practice, decisions on future service
developments
Demonstrate value and impact
Personal priorities
Strengthen connection with subject area
Job satisfaction: intellectual stimulation and enjoyment of
learning, pride in enhancing work practice, (retention)
Enhancement of ‘peer’ relationships, e.g. academia
Career benefits: profile/reputation (e.g. through
publications), leadership development, CPD  career
progression

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DREaM events and reach
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Five events
2 conferences
3 linked workshops – for the ‘cadre’ of DREaMers
213 participants, 33 presenters
Remote audience
~80 blog posts
~800 tweets
Multiple web pages, SlideShares, SoundClouds,
Vimeos etc.

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DREaM as a vehicle for research methods training
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Expert-led sessions on:
Data mining
Discourse analysis
Ethnography
Horizon scanning
Repertory grids
Research ethics and legal issues
Research impact
Research and policy
Research techniques from history
Social network analysis
User involvement in research
Webometrics

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DREaM as forum for dissemination of practitioner research
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Unconference half hour: sample topics
Digital research and curation
M-libraries
Quality improvement in the delivery of medical
information services
Training of academic librarians
One Minute Madness: sample topics
E-books
Digital reference services
Information literacy
Web archiving
One Minute madness videos: 2011; 2012
Unconference half hour: 1; 2; 3

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Practitioners and DREaM
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Expectations that participants would:
Implement new and innovative research
methods/techniques in their work-place
environments
Undertake and disseminate relevant, high priority
research output to inform policy, determine
information services provision, and develop the
future LIS research agenda
Experience enhanced possibilities for exploring
avenues for new research initiatives as a result of
network participation
Continue to work as a network post-project
Witness the impact of their post-DREaM research
on end-user communities

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DREaM impact in 2012
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Growth in knowledge and expertise in
research skills
Substantial growth in theoretical knowledge
Modest increase in application of new skills
Greater confidence as researchers
Widened networks
Brettle, A., Hall, H., & Oppenheim, C. (2012). We have a DREaM: the Developing Research Excellence
and Methods network. Paper presented at the 4th International Conference on Qualitative and
Quantitative Methods in Libraries, Limerick, Ireland, 22-25 May 2012.

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DREaM impact post-project
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Development of new resources
Research, evaluation and audit (Facet, 2013)
First editor was a DREaMer
A third of the book’s authors had some involvement with the Coalition
Events – like this one!
Organised by a DREaMer
Participation from others who were associated with the project
Impact study summer 2015
Internal report September 2015
External publication of findings to follow

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Since 2012, to what extent have the workshop
participants:
Implemented new and innovative research
methods/techniques in their work-place environments?
Undertaken and disseminated relevant, high priority
research output to inform policy, determine information
services provision, and develop the future LIS research
agenda?
Experienced enhanced possibilities for exploring avenues
for new research initiatives as a result of network
participation?
Continued to work as a network?
Witnessed impact of their post-DREaM research on end-
user communities?
DREaM impact study: research questions

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Enjoy the conference
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Learn – lots!
Action research
Altmetrics
Data collection: interviewing;
observation; surveys
Dissemination techniques
Impact measurement
Literature reviewing
Research project management
Social network analysis
Statistics
Network
At the welcome reception Wednesday
At dinner and the ceilidh on Thursday
During sessions
In the breaks
Online: #researchminded
…and afterwards
Enjoy our beautiful city!

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Parks
Royal
yacht
Palace
Botanic
Garden
HillsBeachCastleExtinct volcano

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Contact Hazel Hall
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@hazelh
http://hazelhall.org
http://about.me/hazelh
h.hall@napier.ac.uk
+44 (0)131 455 2760
Slides on SlideShare at:
http://slideshare.net/hazelhall

36. Incorporating a research-minded approach to
professional practice
Opening keynote presentation to the European Association for
Health Information and Libraries, the International Conference of
Animal Health Information Specialists, and the International Clinical
Librarian Conference
University of Edinburgh, Wednesday 10th June 2015
Professor Hazel Hall, @hazelh