http://ejournals.library.ualberta.ca/index.php/EBLIP University of Alberta Learning Services en-US Evidence Based Library and Information Practice 1715-720X The <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0</a> license applies to all works published by <i>Evidence Based Library and Information Practice</i>. Authors will retain copyright of the work. http://ejournals.library.ualberta.ca/index.php/EBLIP/article/view/6547 Denise Koufogiannakis 2009-09-21 4 2009-09-21 http://ejournals.library.ualberta.ca/index.php/EBLIP/article/view/6593 2009-09-21 4 2009-09-21 http://ejournals.library.ualberta.ca/index.php/EBLIP/article/view/4456 Objective - To assess the scale of library and IT resource access issues reported anecdotally by nursing students on clinical placement. To map patterns of IT and library usage behaviour to inform future service plans for this population of students. Methods - A multi-response self-completion questionnaire administered on a group basis to 78 pre-registration Diploma Nursing students. Results - The survey group were heavy users of library and IT facilities while on placement (87% of respondents accessed library and IT facilities at least once per week). Survey respondents encountered barriers to accessing these resources, including lack of awareness of local facilities, lack of time to access facilities, supervisors’ attitudes towards use of library and IT facilities by placement students, and feeling inadequately prepared for accessing and using resources at a distance from the university. Respondents relied heavily on facilities in the placement location and university facilities and responses suggest that use by location was strongly linked to resource format. Use of public library facilities to support study while on placement was revealed by the survey. Respondents’ main source of help for library and IT issues was clinical mentors. The survey indicated that the experience of library and IT access varied greatly with location of placement venue. The study was limited in eliciting more detail about location-specific experiences and findings need to be explored further with respondents using focus group methodology. Conclusions – Library and IT access problems encountered by the pre-registration nursing students included in this survey were not large scale. Although there is no evidence of behaviour to circumvent systemic problems, the study identified small but significant barriers. Five recommendations addressing these barriers will require collaborative service planning between University of Salford and National Health Service (NHS) learning resource staff to implement. This collaboration needs to include service users and the practice mentors who support them on clinical placement. Mike Raynor 2009-09-21 4 2009-09-21 http://ejournals.library.ualberta.ca/index.php/EBLIP/article/view/6449 Objective – The purpose of this paper is to articulate a theory for the use of action research as a tool of evidence based practice for information literacy instruction in school libraries. The emerging theory is intended to capture the complex phenomenon of information skills teaching as it is embedded in school curricula. Such a theory is needed to support research on the integrated approach to teaching information skills and knowledge construction within the framework of inquiry learning. Part 1 of this paper, in the previous issue, built a foundation for emerging theory, which established user-centric information behavior and constructivist learning theory as the substantive theory behind evidence based library instruction in schools. Part 2 continues to build on the Information Search Process and Guided Inquiry as foundational to studying the information-to-knowledge connection and the concepts of help and intervention characteristic of 21st century school library instruction. Methods – This paper examines the purpose and methodology of action research as a tool of evidence based instruction. This is accomplished through the explication of three components of theory-building: paradigm, substantive research, and metatheory. Evidence based practice is identified as the paradigm that contributes values and assumptions about school library instruction. It establishes the role of evidence in teaching and learning, linking theory and practice. Action research, as a tool of evidence based practice is defined as the synthesis of authentic learning, or performance-based assessment practices that continuously generate evidence throughout the inquiry unit of instruction and traditional data collection methods typically used in formal research. This paper adds social psychology theory from Lewin’s work, which contributes methodology from Gestalt psychology, field theory, group dynamics, and change theory. For Lewin the purpose of action research was social reform, while action research in education targeted self through the improvement of practice. The dichotomy between purposes of self and society is resolved by the Lewin-Dewey connection, where the reiterative cycle of action and reflection is the basis for a common intent for both types of action research. Dewey’s approach comprises the metatheory for emerging theory: a philosophy of purpose and methodology that determines how the research is done. Results – The emerging theory developed in this paper postulates that evidence based information literacy instruction uses action research for two purposes. Self-oriented action research (AR(S1)) targets self-improvement on the local level of teaching and learning in school libraries; social-oriented action research (AR(S2)) targets social reform on the global level of educational improvement. Corollaries of the theory indicate a research agenda and methodologies for the research. Conclusion – Implicit in the content of the research is methodology that evolves from the distinction between the purposes of self- and social-oriented action research. Clearly, evidence is generated in the field of teaching and learning that is situated in theory-based practices, such as user-centered information processing, constructivist learning, and a culture of inquiry that grows from social processes. Librarianship is well suited to developing practitioner-researchers who are proficient in making the information-to-knowledge connection that informs their professional performance. Carol A. Gordon 2009-09-21 4 2009-09-21 http://ejournals.library.ualberta.ca/index.php/EBLIP/article/view/6319 A Review of: McKechnie, Lynne (E.F.). “ ‘Spiderman is not for Babies’ (Peter, 4 Years): The ‘Boys and Reading Problem’ from the Perspective of the Boys Themselves.” The Canadian Journal of Information and Library Science 30.1/2 (2006): 57-67. Objective – This study looks at what constitutes legitimate reading material for boys and how this material is defined in light of assessed gender differences in reading, and is part of a larger, ongoing research project on the role of public libraries in the development of youth as readers. Design – Semi-structured, qualitative interviews and book inventories. Setting – The research originated from the MLIS 566 (Literature for Children and Young Adults) class at the Faculty of Information and Media Studies, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. Subjects – Forty-three boys, ages four through twelve, were interviewed. Most of the boys lived in Ontario, although a few came from other Canadian provinces. Methods – Library school students who were registered in a Literature for Children and Young Adults class interviewed children and young adults about their reading and information practice as part of a “Book Ownership Case Study” assignment. The researcher also interviewed children and young adults, for a total of 137 case studies. For the purpose of this article, a data subset for the 43 boys included in the larger project was analyzed. The boys ranged in age from four to twelve years. The mean age was eight and the median age was nine. The theoretical perspective of reader response theory was used to situate the study. This theory has the relationship between the text and the reader as its focus, and it suggests that to understand the reading habits of boys, there needs to be recognition that the experts about their reading are the boys themselves. The interviews, which explored reading preferences and practices, were qualitative, semi-structured, and took thirty minutes to complete. In addition to the interview, each boy’s personal book and information material collection was inventoried. The researcher used a grounded theory approach to analyze the inventory and interview data to pull out themes related to the research questions. Grounded theory “uses a prescribed set of procedures for analyzing data and constructing a theoretical model” from the data (Leedy and Ormrod 154). Main Results – The collection inventories revealed that all 43 study participants had personal collections of reading materials. The collections ranged from eight volumes to 398 volumes. There was a mean volume total of 108 and a median of 98 books per boy. In addition to books, other materials were in the collections. Video recordings were owned by 36 (83.7%) of the boys, 28 (65.1%) of participants had computer software, 28 (65.1%) owned audio recordings, and 21 (48.8%) of the collections also included magazines. In the interview data analysis, a number of themes were revealed. All of the boys except one owned fiction. Some genres appeared frequently and were different than the ones found in the inventories taken of the girls in the larger study. Genres in the boys’ collections included fantasy, science fiction, sports stories, and humorous stories. The boys also discussed genres they did not enjoy: classic children’s fiction, such as The Adventures of Robin Hood, love stories, and “books about groups of girls” (61). All but five boys had series books such as Animorphs, Captain Underpants, Redwall, and Magic Treehouse in their collections. All study participants except for one owned non-fiction titles. When asked what their favourite book was, many of the boys chose a non-fiction title. Holdings included subjects such as “jokes, magic, sports, survival guides, crafts, science, dictionaries, maps, nature, and dinosaurs” (62). In addition to books, the boys reported owning and reading a wide range of other materials. Comics, manga, magazines, pop-up and other toy books, sticker books, colouring books, puzzle books, and catalogues were among the collection inventories. Only one boy read the newspaper. Another theme that emerged from the interview data was “gaming as story” (63). The boys who read video game manuals reported reading to learn about the game, and also reading to experience the game’s story. One boy’s enjoyment of the manual and the game came from the narrative found within. Various reading practices were explored in the interviews. Formats that featured non-linear reading were popular. Illustrations were important. Pragmatic reading, done to support other activities (e.g., Pokeman), was “both useful and pleasurable” (54). And finally, the issue of what counts as reading emerged from the data. Many boys discounted the reading that “they liked the best as not really being reading” (65). Some of the boys felt that reading novels constituted reading but that the reading of computer manuals or items such as science fair project books was “not really reading” (65). A distinction was made between real books and information books by the boys. Conclusions – The researcher explored what has been labelled as the “problem” of boys reading in this paper. She found that the 43 boys in this study are reading, but what they are reading has been undervalued by society and by the boys themselves. Collection inventories found a large number of non-fiction books, computer magazines, comic books, graphic novels, and role-playing game manuals—items not necessarily privileged by libraries, schools, or even by the boys themselves. The researcher suggests that “part of the ‘boys and reading problem’ then lies in what we count as reading” (66). By keeping what boys are actually reading in mind when it comes to collection development and library programming, children’s librarians can “play a central role in legitimizing the reading practices of boys” (66). Virginia Wilson 2009-09-21 4 2009-09-21 http://ejournals.library.ualberta.ca/index.php/EBLIP/article/view/6163 A Review of: Randall, Ken, Denise G. Bender and Diane M. Montgomery. “Determining the Opinions of Health Sciences Students and Faculty Regarding Academic Integrity.” International Journal for Educational Integrity 3.2 (2007): 27-40. Objective – To understand the opinions of students and faculty in physical therapy (PT) and occupational therapy (OT) regarding issues of academic integrity such as plagiarism and cheating. Design – Q method (a mixed method of qualitative data collection with application of quantitative methods to facilitate grouping and interpretation). Setting – An urban university-affiliated health sciences facility in the mid-western United States. Subjects – Thirty-three students and five faculty members of ages 21 to 61 years, 30 associated with the physical therapy program and 8 with occupational therapy, including 6 males and 32 females. Methods –Initially, 300 opinion statements for, against, or neutral on the subject of academic integrity were gathered from journal articles, editorials and commentaries, Internet sites, and personal web logs, 36 of which were selected to represent a full spectrum of perspectives on the topic. Participants in the study performed a “Q-sort” in which they ranked the 36 statements as more-like or less-like their own values. A correlation matrix was developed based on the participants' rankings to create “factors” or groups of individuals with similar views. Two such groups were found and interpreted qualitatively to meaningfully describe the differing views of each group. Three participants could not be sorted into either group, being split between the factors. Main Results – Analysis of the two groups, using software specific to the Q method, revealed a good deal of consensus, particularly in being “most unlike” those statements in support of academic dishonesty. The two groups differed primarily in the motivation for academic honesty. Factor one, with 21 individuals, was labeled “Collective Integrity,” (CI) being represented by socially oriented statements such as “I believe in being honest, true, virtuous, and in doing good to all people,” or “My goal is to help create a world where all people are treated with fairness, decency, and respect.” Factor two, with 14 individuals, was described as “Personal Integrity,” (PI), and focused on an internal sense of values and self-modulation, identifying with statements like “Honour means having the courage to make difficult choices and accepting responsibility for actions and their consequences, even at personal cost.” There were also some demographic patterns in the results. Twenty of the 31 students, 20 of the 29 females, and 17 of the 25 participants aged 30 and under were in the CI group, while 3 of the 4 faculty were in PI. Males, occupational therapists, physical therapists, and those over the age of 30 did not belong clearly to one or the other group, having close to equal numbers in both. Conclusion – Given the two factors, CI and PI, this sample of OT and PT students and faculty can be seen to make academic decisions based on either what they believe society deems correct or what their own internal values tell them. The discovery that more females, students, and those 30 and under were associated with CI resonates with the some key claims in the literature, such as that younger individuals tend to have a more social outlook on academic integrity, or that women's ethic of care is often focused on connections among people. Most importantly, students and faculty appear to share a notable degree of common ground as it relates to their opinions on academic integrity. Additional exploration and the continued use and development of policies promoting academic integrity is called for. Matthew Thomas 2009-09-21 4 2009-09-21 http://ejournals.library.ualberta.ca/index.php/EBLIP/article/view/6260 A Review of: Zhang, Li. "Citation Analysis for Collection Development: A Study of International Relations Journal Literature." Library Collections, Acquisitions, and Technical Services 31.3-4 (2007): 195-207. Objective – To determine primary type, format, language and subject category of research materials used by U.S. scholars of international relations. Also, to investigate whether research method, qualitative or quantitative, can be correlated with the type and age of sources that scholars use. Design – Citation analysis. Setting – Research articles published in three journals on international relations with high impact factors: International Organization, International Studies Quarterly, and World Politics. Subjects – A random sample of cited references taken from the 410 full-length research articles published in these journals from 2000 to2005. Cited references of articles written by authors of foreign institutions (i.e., non-American institutions), as well as cited references of editorial and research notes, comments, responses, and review essays were excluded. Methods – Cited references were exported from ISI’s Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) to MS Excel spreadsheets for analysis. Data was verified against original reference lists. Citations were numbered and identified by source format, place of publication (foreign or domestic), age, and language used, if other than English. The author used a random number generator to select a random sample of 651 from a total of 29,862 citations. Citations were randomly drawn from each journal according to the proportion of the journals’ citations to the total. These citations were analyzed by material type and language. The author also used the Library of Congress Classification Outline to identify the subject category of each book and journal citation in the sample. A separate sampling method was used to investigate if there is a relationship between research methodology and citation behaviour. Each of the original 410 articles was categorized according to research method: quantitative, qualitative or a combination of the two. Two articles representing qualitative research and two representing quantitative research were randomly selected from each of the three journals for each of the six years. Subsequently, five citations from each of the resulting pool of 72 articles were randomly selected to create a sample of 360 citations. These citations were analyzed by material type and age of source. Main Results – Analysis of the citation data showed that books (including monographs, edited books, book chapters and dictionaries) made up 48.2% of the total citations; journals (including scholarly and non-scholarly titles) made up 38.4% of the citations; and government publications made up 4.5% of the citations. Electronic resources, which primarily refer to Web sites and digital collections in this study, represented 1.7% of the citations. Other sources of citations included magazines (1.1%), newspapers (1.1%), working papers (1.1%), theses (0.9%), conference papers not yet published as articles (0.6%), and a miscellaneous category, which included items such as committee minutes, radio broadcasts, unpublished materials and personal communications (2.5%). The average age of book citations was 14.3 years and the median age was 8 years. Foreign language citations represented 3.7% of the 651 total citations. The top ranked foreign languages were German (7), French (5), Russian (4), Spanish (3), Korean (2) and Swedish (number not given Subject analysis of the citations revealed that 38% of all citations were from international relations and two related disciplines, political science, political theory, and public administration. Subject areas outside international relations included social sciences (23.4% - including economics, commerce, industries and finance), history (16.3%), sociology (6.2%), and law (5.9%). Citations from philosophy, psychology, military science and general works together made up 7.3% of the total citations. Citations from science, linguistics, literature, geography and medicine made up less than 2% of the total. Authors of qualitative research articles were more likely to cite books (56.7%) than journals (29.4%) while authors of quantitative research articles were more likely to cite journals (58.3%) than books (28.9%). Authors of qualitative research articles were also more likely to cite government publications and electronic resources than those of quantitative articles. However, authors of quantitative research articles were more likely to cite other materials, such as dissertations, conference papers, working papers and unpublished materials. The age of cited materials for both qualitative and quantitative research articles is similar. Citations to recent materials up to 5 years old were most frequent, followed by materials 6 to10 years old, materials 11 to15 years old, and those 26 or more years old. The least frequently cited materials were 16 to 20 and 21 to25 years old. Conclusion – Scholars in international relations primarily cite books, followed by journals and government publications. Citations to electronic resources such as Web sites and digital collections, and to other materials are far less common. Scholars primarily cite English-language materials on international relations and related subjects. Authors of qualitative research articles are more likely to cite books than journals, while authors of quantitative research articles are more likely to cite journals than books. Recent materials are more frequently cited than older materials, though materials that are more than 26 years old are still being cited regularly. Megan von Isenburg 2009-09-21 4 2009-09-21 http://ejournals.library.ualberta.ca/index.php/EBLIP/article/view/5628 A Review of: Burke, L. “Models of Reference Services in Australian Academic Libraries.” Journal of Librarianship and Information Science 40.4 (2008): 269-86. Objective – To investigate the current organizational models for reference work in Australian academic libraries, and how these reference services are staffed. Design – Mixed methods. Setting – Academic universities in Australia. Subjects – Forty Council of Australian University Librarians (CAUL) member libraries. Methods – A literature study was undertaken to (1) find a definition of reference services and (2) explore the development of reference service models over time. Statistics from the CAUL member libraries were studied for trends in student population and number of academic and library staff. A web-based survey, with questions based on the findings in the literature study, was then distributed to the 40 Australian university libraries in 2006. Respondents were asked when the library commenced different reference services in five areas: formats in which the library received and responded to reference queries, information literacy, subject specialization, liaison activities, and collection development. Respondents also answered questions about the organization of the reference department, including: whether they had a separate or integrated model; the size of the reference collections; if they had a librarian dedicated to supporting students studying in remote or distant mode; if the interlibrary loans department was part of the suite of reference services; and if they had a mission or statement of purpose for their reference services department. Main Results – Based on the literature study, the working definition of reference services (1) for the project was “all activities which assist in providing relevant and appropriate information services to patrons” (270), including: • All interactions with patrons to assist them in their searches for information in all media types. • All training by librarians of patrons to be able to access information for themselves. • Activities to help the library stay informed of relevant developments, such as establishing and maintaining relationships with patrons. The literature study also revealed (2) a shift from the traditional reference service model, focused on the reference desk and the services delivered from that location, to new models involving “consolidation of reference service points, establishment of tiered reference, reference by appointment, reorganization of reference departments, and limiting services to primary users” (271). The core aspects of reference services have changed little over time, including face-to-face reference work, print collection development, bibliographic instruction, and attending meetings. In some aspects, however, there has been a shift in emphasis, e.g., in bibliographic instruction from the teaching of tools to the teaching of information literacy. In addition, reference work has come to include “going out to users,” or academic liaison work, as well as research consultation as a general way to assist undergraduate student in getting started on assignments and projects. The Web-based survey (n=40, response rate 87.5%) showed that 32.4% of libraries have an integrated inquiry point which incorporates information queries and other queries that are not necessarily related to traditional library reference services (272, Table 1). This survey result supports the findings of the literature study in showing a trend of library services moving away from the traditional reference desk. A majority of the responding libraries still retained a separate reference department, but a significant number of libraries have developed departments incorporating reference services with other library services. Those that retained the separate department varied in how they described services to patrons, the most common name being Information Services, a more user-friendly and descriptive name. In staffing the reference service, the respondents were asked to indicate the classification level of their staff using the Higher Education Worker (HEW) scale (an Australian salary scale, based on competencies, minimum 1 / maximum 10). Staff spans a variety of levels (4-10), the most common level being HEW6, a level where all libraries had staff. This indicates that a large part of reference staff in Australian academic libraries are highly qualified. The shift in higher education, resulting in greater numbers of students and fewer staff (including librarians), has in many libraries resulted in a more flexible organization of reference services, and the utilization of staff from other sections of the library for manning the reference service point. There is also evidence of how the changing student population leads to changing demands for library facilities and services, e.g. a decrease in the traditional complex reference questions, as well as in over the counter loan transactions, and an increase in more general queries. Conclusion – Reference services in Australian academic libraries are becoming more flexible and integrated (although the definition for integrated is still unclear), in part as the result of client demand, and in part due to decreased funding. The author sees an emerging role for reference librarians in helping patrons to navigate the increasingly complex information environment, and to assist in developing the skills to critically evaluate the information they access for authoritativeness and appropriateness. Lotta Haglund David Herron 2009-09-21 4 2009-09-21 http://ejournals.library.ualberta.ca/index.php/EBLIP/article/view/6254 Bolin, Mary K. “Librarian Status at U.S. Research Universities: Extending the Typology.” Journal of Academic Librarianship 34.5 (August 2008): 416-24. Objective – To describe and categorize the status of librarians at 119 American research libraries using a typology of librarian status first developed for 50 U.S. land grant universities. Design – Survey. Setting – U.S. research universities. Subjects – 119 American research universities. Included are those universities whose library is a member of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), in addition to land grant universities who are not also ARL members, and any flagship state universities who are neither ARL nor land grant universities. All subjects are classified as either “research – very high” or “research – high” in the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. The 119 institutions represent a total census of the selected population. Methods – The websites of the 119 institutions were surveyed and data on institutional characteristics such as governance, size and geography collected. Additionally, data describing librarian status characteristics such as administrator title, rank systems and tenure status was gathered from sources such as promotion and tenure documentation, faculty handbooks, and policy manuals available on websites. Data was compiled on a spreadsheet and imported into SPSS which was used to create frequencies and cross tabulations. Data was categorised and cross-tabulated using a typology of status originally applied to 50 land grant universities in a previous study. The typology comprises four possible status types for librarians: Type 1 – Faculty: Professorial ranks. Type 2 – Faculty: Other ranks with tenure. Type 3 – Faculty: Other ranks without tenure. Type 4 – Non-faculty: Professional or academic staff. Main Results – In the 119 institutions surveyed, librarians held faculty status at 74 (62%) institutions, of which 63 (51%) provided tenure track positions. At the remaining 45 (38%) institutions, librarians were considered non-faculty. Of the 50 “land grant” institutions in the population, 40 (80%) had librarians with faculty status and 35 (70%) provided tenure track. Ten universities (20%) considered librarians non-faculty. Of the 97 ARL libraries in the population, 55 (57%) had librarians with faculty status and 44 (45%) provided tenure track. Non-faculty librarians were found at 42 (43%) of these institutions. Of the 90 public institutions in the population, 68 (76%) had librarians who were faculty, 57 (64%) provided tenure track, and 22 (24%) had non-faculty librarians. Among the 29 private institutions the status ratios were reversed with only 4 (13%) institutions having librarians ranked as tenure track faculty (type 1 or type 2) and 23 (80%) having non-faculty librarians. In the total population (119) type 3 “Faculty: Other ranks without tenure” was the least common category, 48% (57) of libraries were headed by a dean, 67% (80) of institutions had librarian representation on faculty senate and as the size of an institution increased the likelihood of librarians having faculty rank decreased. “Dean” was the most popular administrator title in the population; it correlated with professorial rank and was strongly associated with tenure. Having tenure was, in turn, strongly associated with faculty senate representation. In the Northeast census region type 4, non-faculty staff predominated while type 1 was rare; in the Midwest there was an almost even split between type 1 and type 4; in the South there was a fairly even spread across all four types, and in the West a fairly even spread across types 1, 2 and 4. Finally, the data showed that as the size of an institution increased, the likelihood of librarians having faculty rank decreased. Conclusion – The typology created for land grant universities can be extended and applied to a wider population. It is valid and reliable both for organizing information about librarian status and for comparing institutions and population segments. Kate Kelly 2009-09-21 4 2009-09-21 http://ejournals.library.ualberta.ca/index.php/EBLIP/article/view/6530 * Ray Lyons 2009-09-21 4 2009-09-21 http://ejournals.library.ualberta.ca/index.php/EBLIP/article/view/6467 * Andrew Booth 2009-09-21 4 2009-09-21 http://ejournals.library.ualberta.ca/index.php/EBLIP/article/view/6545 * Lorie A. Kloda 2009-09-21 4 2009-09-21 http://ejournals.library.ualberta.ca/index.php/EBLIP/article/view/6521 Virginia Wilson 2009-09-21 4 2009-09-21 http://ejournals.library.ualberta.ca/index.php/EBLIP/article/view/6553 Lotta Haglund Diana Wakimoto Laval Hunsucker V. Vishwa Mohan Alison Shea Tatiana Usova Josepha W.M. Plevier Jonathan Eldredge Ann De Meulemeester Virginia Wilson 2009-09-21 4 2009-09-21 http://ejournals.library.ualberta.ca/index.php/EBLIP/article/view/6554 Jon Eldredge Philip Kroth Holly Philips Sally Bowler-Hill 2009-09-21 4 2009-09-21 http://ejournals.library.ualberta.ca/index.php/EBLIP/article/view/6486 2009-09-21 4 2009-09-21