Data collection by multi-location, longitudinal focus group: an application in library and information science research

Posted on May 13, 2022 by Hazel Hall

Dr Leo Appleton

I have recently published a new paper on research methods in Library and Information Science (LIS) research with Dr Leo Appleton of the Information School at Sheffield University.

This work is concerned with the data collection phase of Leo‘s part-time doctoral study completed in 2020 within the Centre for Social Informatics. For this, Leo deployed a novel multi-location longitudinal focus group method. Fifty-three participants took part in three rounds of focus group meetings in eight public library authorities in England and Scotland over a period of three years. Continue reading →

Spreading the news of RIVAL at the SCURL and CILIPS 2021 conferences, and in Information Professional

Posted on May 5, 2021 by Hazel Hall

This year’s annual conference of the Scottish Confederation of University and Research Libraries (SCURL) takes place online on Wednesday 9th June 2021. Registration are free of charge on EventBrite.

The conference will bring together SCURL members to share ideas and experiences to shape library services in the future. There will be a particular focus on adaptations and innovations across SCURL libraries during the past year, taking into account the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on library service delivery. Continue reading →

All set for #asist20

Posted on October 25, 2020 by Hazel Hall

Following three days of virtual pre-conference workshops and the annual doctoral colloquium, the annual meeting of the Association for Information Science and Technology 2020 ‘proper’ opens today. The opening keynote speaker is Houman Haddad, Head of Emerging Technologies, United Nations World Food Programme (Nobel Peace Prize winner). He will present to the online audience on blockchain technology for humanitarian assistance at 09:00 EDT (13:00 GMT in the UK).

Several members of the Centre for Social Informatics are making co-authored contributions to ASIST 2020: Continue reading →

Meet the RIVAL network: members, skills, and locations all mapped

Posted on January 29, 2020 by Hazel Hall

D r Bruce Ryan and I have recently added new content about network members to the Research Impact Value and LIS (RIVAL) project web site. This includes:

A directory of all the network members: this includes names; photographs; job titles; contact details; and skills and interests for all people listed.
A directory of network members’ skills and interests: these have been classified according to the CILIP Professional Skills and Knowledge Base.
The RIVAL network map: this interactive map allows users to locate the RIVAL network members across Scotland.

Continue reading →

Bookings fill up fast for RIVAL events 2, 3 and 4

Posted on July 29, 2019 by Hazel Hall

Following the success of the ‘taster’ Research, Impact, Value and Library and Information Science (RIVAL) project event on July 11th 2019, most of the places for the set of three network events on 7th November 2019, 19th March 2020, and 9th July 2020 have been booked. Continue reading →

Practitioner research: value, impact, and priorities #libresearch17

Posted on November 6, 2017 by Hazel Hall

This Wednesday 8th November I will be the opening speaker at ‘Themes and trends in library and information research‘, a one-day conference hosted by CILIP in Kent at Canterbury Christ Church University. Entitled ‘Practitioner research: value, impact, and priorities’ my presentation covers four mains themes:

The long-identified (and debated) research-practice gap in library and information science research
The case for research-led practice and practitioner-led research
Access to current research in library and information science research in the UK
Means of generating new research ideas

Continue reading →

DREaM Again moves into the data analysis phase

Posted on July 13, 2015 by Hazel Hall

Since the end of May my colleague Dr Bruce Ryan and I have been investigating the long-term impact of the AHRC-funded DREaM project (for which I was Principal Investigator in 2011 and 2012), and the forms that such impact has taken.

As part of this work we have been considering what ‘impact’ means in the context of library and information science (LIS), and how this relates to conceptions of the term in other domains where there is a perceived research-practice gap, such as policing, social work and nursing. This first part of the study has been based on an analysis of the extant literature. We intend to write this up as a review paper.

Continue reading →

DREaM Again project launch

Posted on June 22, 2015 by Hazel Hall

In 2011/12 I was Principal Investigator (PI) on the AHRC-funded DREaM project. The aim of this work was to develop a formal UK-wide network of Library and Information Science (LIS) researchers. The project ran from January 2011 to August 2012, and was supported by the Library and Information Science Research Coalition. We reported the initial successes of the DREaM project in a paper that I co-authored with Alison Brettle and Charles Oppenheim and presented at QQML 2012. Three years later, we are interested in any further lasting impacts of the project.

To this end I am working with my colleague Dr Bruce Ryan on a follow-up study that investigates any longer-term impact of DREaM, and the forms that such impact (if it exists) has taken. I mentioned these plans earlier in the month in a presentation at the Third International Seminar on LIS Education and Research, and then during my recent opening keynote paper at the 2015 EAHIL conference (the format of which was inspired by the DREaM project, and the event masterminded by Marshall Dozier, who was a member of the DREaM cadre).

Continue reading →

Applications invited for three funded PhD places to start in early 2015

Posted on October 28, 2014 by Hazel Hall

The Institute for Informatics and Digital Innovation (IIDI) is currently advertising three funded PhD places to start in early 2015 (on a date between January and March). The full advertisement can be found at jobs.ac.uk and on the Edinburgh Napier University vacancies web site. The closing date for applications is 21st November 2014, with interviews expected to take place in early December 2014.

Continue reading →

Hazel Hall

Emeritus Professor, Edinburgh Napier University

Tag Archives: LIS

Meet the RIVAL network: members, skills, and locations all mapped

Bookings fill up fast for RIVAL events 2, 3 and 4